A prominent water polo coach took advantage of the college and Olympic dreams of teenage girls in order to sexually abuse them over six years, prosecutors told an Orange County Superior Court jury on Monday, Oct 3.
As the trial of Bahram Hojreh began in a Santa Ana courtroom, the attorney for the former coach with the International Water Polo Club, an Orange County organization, denied 13 players’ accounts of sexual abuse, which prosecutors say occurred during practices at the Olympic-size swimming pool at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, ending in 2018.
Hojreh — a 46-year-old Irvine resident who also coached at Kennedy High School shortly before his arrest — is on trial for two dozen felony charges, including sexual battery, sexual penetration and lewd acts on a minor. USA Water Polo, the sport’s national governing body, previously agreed to a $13.85 million settlement with at least some of those who alleged sexual abuse, and Hojreh has been banned for life from participating in USA Water Polo events.
During opening statements Monday, Deputy District Attorney Raquel Cooper told jurors that the club players — who were generally 14 to 17 years old — were dedicated to water polo, played at a very high level and considered Hojreh the person who held the keys to their college and Olympic aspirations.
“They believed the defendant was the one person who could help them succeed at water polo,” Cooper said. “The victims honestly and truly believed they needed to endure the abuse of the defendant in order to succeed in water polo.”
Among the sexual abuse prosecutors say occurred one-on-one during practices was the touching of breasts and genitals, digital penetration and coercing players to touch his genitals.
Defense attorney John Barnett flatly denied the charges, questioning how what he estimated as 400-plus alleged incidents of sexual abuse could take place at public practices attended by dozens of players, coaches and parents without anyone noticing. Barnett said the girls were aware of how to report such abuse, having seen another Kennedy coach, Josh Owens, arrested for sexually abusing athletes.
“He does not have a hold on them, he is not a Svengali,” Barnett said of Hojreh. “They know one call and he is out of the pool and into cuffs. … They have the power, not him.”
Prosecutors allege that some of the girls began to confide in one another after one put on goggles during a club practice — allowing her underwater to see Hojreh molest another player — and confirmed her suspicion that she wasn’t the only victim. Some of the girls reached out to adults, first through a friend whose father worked in law enforcement and then through parents.
“Guys, we have to do this, and I’m serious,” one of the girls wrote about reporting Hojreh in a group Snapchat message shown to the jury. “I don’t think that talking to him in person or writing him a letter is going to help. … I want to make sure when I leave this place that I at least tried to stop it.”
When detectives began interviewing the athletes — and when their parents began asking their children about the coach — some of the girls initially denied any abuse occurred before disclosing it later, the prosecutor said.
Criminal charges involving seven alleged victims were filed against Hojreh in April 2018. Three more alleged victims stepped forward later, and were added to the criminal complaint. Another three players are expected to testify about alleged abuse by Hojreh during the trial but are not directly tied to the criminal charges.
Barnett described Hojreh as a famed water polo coach who spent more than 25 years in the sport and coached thousands of athletes. The defense attorney told jurors that while most sexual predators commit their acts in secret, Hojreh is alleged to have sexually abused the girls in a public setting on a military base.
Barnett said the girls knew players who had been sexually abused by Owens, the other former Kennedy coach, and knew the victims in that case had received a nearly $8 million settlement from the Anaheim Union High School District. Hojreh accusers have already obtained the $14 million settlement, the defense attorney pointed out.
And the defense attorney cited “missing” texts between the players when they were discussing coming forward with the allegations.
The trial is expected to last several weeks and include testimony from multiple players and parents.
Along with the criminal and civil cases, the sexual abuse allegations against Hojreh have also led former Olympic medalists and athlete-safety advocates to call on congressional leaders to overhaul USA Water Polo. The organization’s leaders have denied any wrongdoing, describing the multi-million-dollar settlement as being driven by their insurance carrier.