Disgraced Water Polo Coach Accused of Sexually Assaulting Atleast 10 Teen Girls During Practice Sessions

Iesha November 18, 2022 News Leave a comment

In Orange County, California, a well-known water polo coach was convicted of sexually assaulting 10 teenage girls during sessions while their parents were poolside.

According to prosecutors, Bahram Hojreh molested the teen girls and “touched their breasts, twisted their nipples, touched their genitals above and below their swimsuits and digitally penetrated them underwater during coaching sessions.”

Prosecutors said that the coach allegedly told the teen girls that what he was doing was to “toughen them up for competition.”

On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Hojreh, 46, would face 22 felony charges, including sexual assault, sexual penetration, and lewd acts on children.

The jury also found Hojreh guilty of simple assault concerning one of the Jane Does.

Prosecutors say that assaults occurred between 2012 and 2017 with teen girls ages 13 to 17.

According to the Orange County Register, the disgraced former coach testified in his own defense that his former athletes were part of a “conspiracy” to slander him. His defense lawyer, John Barnett, suggested that the young women were lying.

In addition to coaching at Kennedy High School in La Palma, Hojreh was the head coach of the International Water Polo Club in Los Alamitos, California.

Prosecutors said the assaults occurred at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos during pool training sessions.

At the time, parents were unaware that the disgraced coach was sexually assaulting their daughters.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, “My heart breaks for each one of these victims and for their parents who did everything they could to help their children achieve their athletic dreams and instead had to learn the painful truth that their daughters had been molested right in front of them – and there was nothing they could do to protect them.”

He said, “Thankfully, these brave girls had the courage to speak up about the abuse and prevented additional girls from being molested.”

In 2017, the girls started confiding in each other and told their parents about it a year later, and they immediately reported the assaults to the authorities.

Throughout his career, Hojreh coached more than 100 All-Americans and at least ten teams to national championships.

According to the Orange County Register, he is currently prohibited from participating in any USA Water Polo-related events for the rest of his life.

Following Wednesday’s verdict, Hojreh, who had been on bail throughout the trial, was promptly brought back into custody until his January 12 sentencing.