LANCASTER – A 35-year-old girls’ softball coach charged with having sex with an underage player pleaded no contest Wednesday.
Jose Trinidad Lopez pleaded no contest to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and sexual penetration by foreign object. In exchange for the plea negotiation, prosecutors agreed to dismiss two other felony sex charges against Lopez in connection with the case.
Lopez was sentenced to two years in county jail, and he was ordered to register with the local police agency as a sex offender, according to court records. He was also ordered to pay restitutions and fines totaling $840.
Lopez was a coach on a traveling softball team in the Antelope Valley that included 14 to 18-year-old girls.
He became the subject of a criminal investigation in July when allegations were made that he had been involved in an 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.
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.
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