LANCASTER – Longtime Antelope Valley soccer coach and referee Renoir Valenti must stand trial on charges that he sexually abused and molested 13 young boys, including five current or former soccer players he coached, a judge ruled Tuesday.
“The people have clearly proven the elements of each of the sex crime offenses,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Christopher Estes in rendering his decision.
Valenti, 50, was held to answer to 19 of the 20 criminal charges against him. His next court appearance is October 17.
Including in the charges are five felony counts of continuous sexual abuse, one felony count of committing a lewd act upon a child, and eight misdemeanor counts of child molesting. These charges involve 13 boys who were between the ages of 5 and 15 when the alleged crimes occurred.
Valenti also faces a felony count for committing a lewd act upon a 14-year-old child, in connection with his ex-wife, who testified that she was 14 when she began dating Valenti. The judge dismissed one count for insufficient evidence– a lewd act with a minor under 14 years old. This charge involved Valenti’s ex-wife, as well.
Additionally, Valenti faces four felony counts of procuring false or forged instruments for allegedly obtaining social security numbers under the names Renoir Valenti and Raynord Haylock.
The judge’s ruling came after a four-day preliminary hearing that included graphic testimony from both victims and law enforcement personnel.
Read details of each day of Valenti’s preliminary hearing below:
Day 4 – Boy molested more than 10,000 times, according to testimony
Day 3 – Preliminary hearing resumes in soccer coach child-molest case
Days 1 & 2 – Allegations aired in soccer coach child-molest case
–
Robert Tapia says
Sex crimes need to be dealt with by nothing less than castration. Only then will these monsters be harmless.
D. Inquisitive says
The ex-wife seem to be out for the jogular. Why she took so long to come out. Now she wants to be a victim. She could have spared many. As for the charges on the ex-wife, I think her parents should be held accountable also, because they knew about it.