Southern California youth coach charged with sexual assault of a minor

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Southern California youth coach Chris Flores, 37, faces multiple charges of sexual assault of a minor following his arrest in Bakersfield on Thursday, according to Santa Ana police.

Santa Ana police said in a statement that police investigated allegations made by two victims, who said Flores sexually assaulted them. According to police, Flores is a coach with STARS Prep Academy, a training center for student athletes in Orange, California.

"Santa Ana Police Department Detectives believe there may be additional victims that Flores preyed upon as a coach with access to many children and teenagers," the police statement said.

Santa Ana police detectives first became aware of the allegations last week. A 14-year-old girl told police she was enrolled in the STARS Prep Academy and Flores was her coach. The girl said Flores sexually assaulted her multiple times throughout 2021.

Police said the victim recorded a conversation she had with Flores last year.

"Flores can be heard asking the victim if she 'deleted everything' and asking her to go on a date with him," the Santa Ana police statement said. "Detectives believe Flores was asking the victim to delete text messages between them."

Police began investigating Flores when they got a copy of the recording. They learned that a second victim, a 15-year-old girl from Irvine, made similar allegations against Flores to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department earlier this month.

Flores is held on $500,000 bail on multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor, according to Santa Ana police.