San Diego

Former Santana High School Coach Pleads Guilty to Felony Charge

A former Santana High School campus supervisor and track coach pleaded guilty to attending an arranged illicit meeting with a minor

Keith Silvia, 49, engaged in sexual activity with an underage student, according to his plea. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge on Thursday.  

The incident first came to light when the victim's parents found letters from an unknown person in their daughter's backpack earlier this year, deputies said. 

When they looked into the matter further, they discovered the letters were from Silvia. GUHSD officials said Silvia worked as a campus supervisor and also coached freshman football and track and field. 

Deputies conducted an investigation and found the coach fostered an intimate relationship with the victim, deputies said. The coach arranged more than one off-campus meeting, deputies said. 

The victim's parents reported the incident to the school, which told the Sheriff's Department. He resigned from the district on June 23 and later turned himself in to authorities in July 2015. 

Silvia was initially charged with four misdemeanor counts of annoying/molesting a child under 18 years of age and one felony count of arranging a meet with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd acts. 

Silvia is set to be sentenced on Jan. 4 in El Cajon. 

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