A distinguished water polo coach took benefit of the school and Olympic goals of teenage ladies as a way to sexually abuse them over six years, prosecutors advised an Orange County Superior Court docket jury on Monday, Oct 3.
Because the trial of Bahram Hojreh started in a Santa Ana courtroom, the lawyer for the previous coach with the Worldwide Water Polo Membership, an Orange County group, denied 13 gamers’ accounts of sexual abuse, which prosecutors say occurred throughout practices on the Olympic-size swimming pool on the Joint Forces Coaching Base in Los Alamitos, ending in 2018.
Hojreh — a 46-year-old Irvine resident who additionally coached at Kennedy Excessive Faculty shortly earlier than his arrest — is on trial for two dozen felony costs, together with sexual battery, sexual penetration and lewd acts on a minor. USA Water Polo, the game’s nationwide governing physique, beforehand agreed to a $13.85 million settlement with at the least a few of those that alleged sexual abuse, and Hojreh has been banned for all times from collaborating in USA Water Polo occasions.
Throughout opening statements Monday, Deputy District Legal professional Raquel Cooper advised jurors that the membership gamers — who have been typically 14 to 17 years previous — have been devoted to water polo, performed at a really excessive stage and regarded Hojreh the one that held the keys to their faculty and Olympic aspirations.
“They believed the defendant was the one one that may assist them succeed at water polo,” Cooper mentioned. “The victims truthfully and actually believed they wanted to endure the abuse of the defendant as a way to achieve water polo.”
Among the many sexual abuse prosecutors say occurred one-on-one throughout practices was the touching of breasts and genitals, digital penetration and coercing gamers to the touch his genitals.
Protection lawyer John Barnett flatly denied the costs, questioning how what he estimated as 400-plus alleged incidents of sexual abuse may happen at public practices attended by dozens of gamers, coaches and oldsters with out anybody noticing. Barnett mentioned the women have been conscious of learn how to report such abuse, having seen one other Kennedy coach, Josh Owens, arrested for sexually abusing athletes.
“He doesn't have a maintain on them, he isn't a Svengali,” Barnett mentioned of Hojreh. “They know one name and he's out of the pool and into cuffs. … They've the facility, not him.”
Prosecutors allege that a number of the ladies started to speak in confidence to each other after one placed on goggles throughout a membership follow — permitting her underwater to see Hojreh molest one other participant — and confirmed her suspicion that she wasn’t the one sufferer. A few of the ladies reached out to adults, first via a good friend whose father labored in legislation enforcement after which via dad and mom.
“Guys, we've to do that, and I’m severe,” one of many ladies wrote about reporting Hojreh in a gaggle Snapchat message proven to the jury. “I don’t suppose that speaking to him in particular person or writing him a letter goes to assist. … I need to ensure after I go away this place that I at the least tried to cease it.”
When detectives started interviewing the athletes — and when their dad and mom started asking their youngsters concerning the coach — a number of the ladies initially denied any abuse occurred earlier than disclosing it later, the prosecutor mentioned.
Felony costs involving seven alleged victims have been filed towards Hojreh in April 2018. Three extra alleged victims stepped ahead later, and have been added to the legal criticism. One other three gamers are anticipated to testify about alleged abuse by Hojreh in the course of the trial however are usually not straight tied to the legal costs.
Barnett described Hojreh as a famed water polo coach who spent greater than 25 years within the sport and coached 1000's of athletes. The protection lawyer advised jurors that whereas most sexual predators commit their acts in secret, Hojreh is alleged to have sexually abused the women in a public setting on a army base.
Barnett mentioned the women knew gamers who had been sexually abused by Owens, the opposite former Kennedy coach, and knew the victims in that case had acquired an almost $8 million settlement from the Anaheim Union Excessive Faculty District. Hojreh accusers have already obtained the $14 million settlement, the protection lawyer identified.
And the protection lawyer cited “lacking” texts between the gamers once they have been discussing coming ahead with the allegations.
The trial is anticipated to final a number of weeks and embrace testimony from a number of gamers and oldsters.
Together with the legal and civil instances, the sexual abuse allegations towards Hojreh have additionally led former Olympic medalists and athlete-safety advocates to name on congressional leaders to overtake USA Water Polo. The group’s leaders have denied any wrongdoing, describing the multi-million-dollar settlement as being pushed by their insurance coverage service.