Southern California coach convicted on molestation and sexual assault charges
A prominent youth sports coach in Southern California may spend the next decade in prison after a jury convicted him of multiple molestation and sexual assault charges on Tuesday.
"These athletes went there to train in an effort to excel at their sport, not to be victimized by a pedophile," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
Christopher "Coach Frogg" Flores was convicted on seven felony charges related to the year-long molestation of a 15-year-old girl he trained at he molested STARS Prep Academy in Santa Ana between January 2021 and December 2021. The charges also covered a 22-year-old employee's claim that Flores sexually assaulted the victim at a sports training facility in January 2022.
The combination of the seven felony charges listed below carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison:
- Four counts of lewd acts upon a child aged 14 or 15
- Two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object of a victim under the age of 16
- One count of sexual penetration with a foreign object by force
A judge will determine how many years the 39-year-old will spend in prison during Flores' sentencing hearing on Oct.4.
"What happened is horrifying and the youth sports community as a whole has been victimized by the actions of a grown man who not only abused his victims but abused that position of trust in the most twisted way," Spitzer said.
During the trial, two other underage girls testified about the coach's sexual misconduct.
Flores was known for his connection to high-profile college and professional football players. STARS Prep Academy severed all ties with him shortly after the allegations.