Jesus Magana: Soccer coach who terrorized and molested player for over SIX YEARS gets 155 years in prison
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: A former California youth soccer coach was convicted of molesting a child for six years and has been sentenced to 155 years behind bars. Jesus Anthony Magana from Oxnard, who was a soccer coach with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) between 2013 and 2019, was sentenced on Wednesday, October 19.
The 39-year-old was earlier convicted on several counts of sexually assaulting and committing lewd acts with a young child, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. The victim's name has not been disclosed to the public.
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According to Fox News, Anthony was convicted of five counts of unlawful acts on a child 10 years of age or younger, four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and seven counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 on September 7.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek D Malan delivered the sentence on Wednesday after a jury found Anthony guilty on all counts. The accused pleaded not guilty to each offense. The court ordered Anthony to pay compensation to the parents of the victim, and said he was not to contact them "in person, by mail, by phone or in any other manner either directly or indirectly."
During the trial, two other alleged victims of Anthony testified, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. The court subsequently issued a protective order for the victim and the two who testified for ten years.
As per the prosecutor’s office, the former coach abused his position to gain access to the child. According to the Ventura County Star, Prosecutor Amber Lee said, "The defendant betrayed a position of trust to gain access to children. The sentence reflects the depravity of his conduct but also the hard work of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation and the strength of the witnesses."
The prosecutor added, "I hope this sentence provides some level of closure for the victims and protects our community from future harm by this defendant."
In a separate incident, six Colton High School football players are set to sue their school district and athletic trainer alleging that she sexually abused and raped them in the 2000s. The six anonymous men say their trainer Tiffany Gordon raped them while they played football between 2000 and 2007.
Gordon worked as an athletic trainer under her father and longtime coach of the same school, athletic director Harold Strauss, before she became the athletic director at Grand Terrace High school. Strauss died in 2019. The lawsuit claims other members of the football team, the players' parents, and the school staff were all aware of Gordon's misconduct while the school district failed to report or investigate claims brought against them, reports Los Angeles Times.
