Montebello

High School Tennis Coach Charged With a Dozen Felonies, Accused of Sexual Relationship With Player

A Montebello high school tennis coach accused of carrying on a nearly three-year sexual relationship with one of his underage students was charged Wednesday with a dozen felonies.

Timothy Van Phuoc Dang, 26, of West Covina, was expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Alhambra.

Dang, a tennis coach at Schurr High School, is accused of having a sexual relationship with the girl beginning in 2014 when she was 14 years old, according to police and prosecutors.

He was charged with six counts of meeting a minor for lewd purposes, three counts of oral copulation of a person under 18, two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of sodomy of a person under 18.

Dang was arrested around 2 p.m. Monday at the high school by Monterey Park police detectives.

Dang "was identified as having a sexual relationship with a current student beginning when the female victim was 14 years old," according to Monterey Park police Lt. Bill Cuevas. Prosecutors said the alleged relationship began in October 2014 and continued until July of this year. A "concerned citizen" contacted school police about the alleged relationship, according to the District Attorney's Office.

"Dang was the victim's tennis coach and what started as a coach-student relationship evolved into an inappropriate sexual relationship lasting approximately three years," Cuevas said. "It was determined in the investigation that the crimes occurred in Monterey Park."

Dang was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, but prosecutors are expected to ask that his bail be increased to $690,000. Cuevas said investigators "believe that there may be other victims or additional information regarding Dang's conduct, and are encouraging individuals who may have been a victim or have additional information to please contact the Monterey Park Police Department Investigations Bureau at 626-307-1236 or their local police department."

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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