LANCASTER – The 35-year-old girls’ softball coach accused of having sex with one of his teenaged players appeared in an Antelope Valley courtroom Tuesday.
Jose Trinidad Lopez did not enter a plea, and his arraignment was postponed until September 28. The court also set a preliminary hearing on the case for October 11, according to court records. And Lopez was served in open court with a criminal protective order barring him from having any contact with his alleged victim and her family.
Lopez, who coached a traveling girls’ softball team in the Antelope Valley, became the subject of a criminal investigation two months ago when allegations were made that he had been involved in an on-ongoing sexual relationship with one of his 16-year-old players.
The alleged sexual intercourse occurred between February and July of this year, according to court records.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Lopez on Aug. 7 for committing lewd acts with a child. Lopez was released hours later on $100,000 bail.
On Aug. 15, Lopez was charged with two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, one felony count of penetration with a foreign object, and one felony count of lewd acts with a child, according to court records.
His case comes in the wake of another scandal involving a local athletic coach accused of having sex with players. Lancaster soccer coach, Renoir Valenti, is charged with sexually molesting 13 young boys, including five current or former soccer players he coached, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Read more here.
–
