Former High School Wrestling Coach Sentenced For Sexual Abuse
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A man who coached wrestling teams at a Sun Valley high school and a San Fernando Boys and Girls Club was sentenced Tuesday to 71 years in state prison for the sexual assaults of nine young athletes.
Terry Terrell Gillard, 58, of Sylmar was found guilty on May 7 of 28 felony counts of procuring a child to engage in a lewd act as well as three counts each of lewd act upon a child, lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15 and oral copulation of a person under 18.
Deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney Cathy Lee said the jury also found Gillard guilty of 10 misdemeanor counts of child molestation for a total of 47 counts.
According to evidence presented at the seven-week-long trial, the conduct occurred between 1991 and 2017 and involved minors the defendant met through the wrestling teams. Gillard was a coach at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley and the Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando.
The victims included seven boys and two girls between the ages of 11 and 17, the prosecutor said.
Gillard's attorney said they plan to appeal on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.
An attorney who represents all but one victim said they plan to sue the LAUSD and the Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando. The victims' attorney claims there were several red flags about Gillard's behavior, including a suspension, that should have kept him away from those children.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, Juvenile Division.