Former Bellflower Coach Pleads No Contest To Molesting Teen Girl For 5 Years
NORWALK (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a former Bellflower High School track and girls' basketball coach pleaded no contest Friday to molesting a teen over a five-year period starting when she was 13.
Bryan E. Shepherd, 49, entered the plea before Norwalk Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza.
Deputy District Attorney Jessica Tillson said that under terms of a negotiated settlement, Shepherd will be sentenced to 28 years in state prison. He will be formally sentenced on March 25.
The defendant specifically pleaded no contest to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child and two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child.
Friday's plea came during a pretrial hearing.
Shepherd has been in custody since his Dec. 20, 2011, arrest by investigators with the Sheriff's Special Victims bureau.
Although Shepherd was a high school coach, officials said his crimes did not occur at the school. The victim was molested from the time she was 13 in 2005 until she was about to turn 18 in 2010.
