In connection with the sexual assaults of four young women he mentored more than 10 years ago, a former basketball coach from Southern California was given a 150-year prison term on Wednesday.
According to a statement from Todd Spitzer’s office, 48-year-old Carlos Francisco Juarez was found guilty of 10 felonies in July for assaults that took place between 2005 and 2010. The girls’ ages at the time of the assaults varied from 11 to 17.
According to Spitzer, “This coach was in a position of confidence and authority over these young girls, and he exploited them.” “Parents and athletes should not be concerned about their children being the target of a sexual predator while participating in youth sports.”
Spitzer praised the bravery of the four women who came forward, saying it helped put “another child molester” behind bars.
The prosecutor’s office claimed that in 2005, when the youngest victim was receiving private instruction from Juarez at a gym in Tustin, he forced her to practice topless. She further stated that after sexually assaulting her, he gave her an envelope containing cash.
For four years after he moved into her house, Juarez repeatedly assaulted a separate 13-year-old girl, subjecting her to his sexual advances.
The district attorney’s office claims that Juarez promised a different 13-year-old basketball player that he would start for him in exchange for performing a sex act on him.
When Juarez raped the fourth victim in the case in 2008, she was 14 years old and taking basketball lessons from him.
Juarez was found guilty on two criminal counts of oral copulation of a youngster under the age of 16 and two felony counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object of a minor, as well as seven felony counts of lewd actions on a child.
According to the district attorney’s office, he was a club coach who also worked at a number of Tustin and Costa Mesa high schools among other local high schools.
Kenneth Reed, Juarez’s lawyer, wasn’t immediately available for comment regarding the sentence. According to the Orange County Register, Reed stated that he intended to appeal the verdict.