High School Trainer, 64, Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Ten Teenagers

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LOS ANGELES —Richard Alexander Turner, 64, an athletic coach who was employed at two San Fernando Valley high schools was arrested on Tuesday, for sexual-related offenses, involving ten teen females.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Turner is charged with six separate counts of sexual battery and sexual penetration by force, along with four counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious individual, and one count each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation.

"The unconsciousness in this particular case really refers to the fact that they may not have immediately been aware that they were being sexually molested," District Attorney George GascĂ³n told reporters at a news conference to announce the charges. "There have been some cases where force was used as well."

On October 12, reports stated that the defendant was employed at Van Nuys High School and Birmingham Community Charter High School.

While awaiting his arraignment, Turner was held on close to $2.3 million bail.

The alleged victims were between 15 and 17 years old, the charges pertain to incidents that occurred between 2017 and 2022, according to the district attorney, who stated that he was "grateful for the many young women that have come forward."

"Between 2017 and this year, Turner allegedly assaulted 10 student athletes who were seeking rehabilitation and recovery from sports injuries. Some of the alleged assaults occurred on campus, while other incidents took place outside of the school setting," the district attorney said.

On September 20, Turner was taken into custody by Los Angeles police after a student at Birmingham Community Charter High School notified staff that the defendant inappropriately touched the victim while she requested treatment for an injury, according to LAPD Juvenile Division officials.

Investigators later found a crime report from 2017 in which another pupil had notified officials that Turner inappropriately touched her after she sustained an injury during basketball practice at Van Nuys High School, LAPD said.

The case was rejected in 2017, by the District Attorney's Office, which cited a matter of insufficient evidence to establish the case, according to Capt. Jeff Bratcher, commanding officer of the Juvenile Division.

"The reports made by both of these victims were similar and we sought the media's help in locating witnesses or other victims," Bratcher told reporters. "In the days following, several minors reported that they had been touched inappropriately by the suspect," Bratcher said.

Several hours following the defendant's release on bond, Captain Batcher revealed that Turner was taken into custody again on Thursday.

GascĂ³n and Los Angeles police were asking anyone who may have been a victim of Turner or who has any information regarding potential additional assaults was asked to call the LAPD at 818-374-5415 or 877-527-3247 during non-business hours or weekends.

This news report originated via City News Service and was updated by Anita Johnson-Brown, Editor who contributed to this news report.

photo: https://losangelesnews.town.news/

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