Water Polo Coach Pleads 'Not Guilty' To Groping, Molestation

IRVINE, CA — A renowned international and Orange County water polo coach accused of molesting seven teenage student athletes, between 2014 and January of this year, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to nearly two dozen charges.

Bahram Hojreh, 42, of Irvine, is charged with four counts of committing lewd acts on the children he coached, four counts of sexual penetration of a minor with a foreign object and one count of lewd acts on a child younger than 14, all felonies, along with seven counts of child annoyance and six counts of sexual battery, all misdemeanors.

Hojreh is accused of molesting the female water polo players between September 2014 and January of this year. Four of the girls were 15 or younger, prosecutors allege.

Hojreh's attorney, Ricardo Nicol, said his client has more than 20 years of experience as a coach ,without any allegations until he was accused in this case.

"No problems for 20 years and then all of a sudden, all at once, you've got seven girls who know each other talked to each other" before reporting the allegations to authorities, Nicol said.

Hojreh had a "spotless reputation" throughout his career as a coach, which includes work at Kennedy High School in La Palma, Nicol said.

"I have a client who is devastated by this," he said. "Even if he's fully vindicated, that's not going to get him the publicity he's getting right now. That's just the reality. The best he can hope for is a big sigh of relief he doesn't end up in prison."

Nicol said it didn't make sense that his client would become a "serial groper" in his 40s.

When the arrest was announced, investigators said they suspect there may be more alleged victims and asked anyone with relevant information to call Detective Delana Lopez at (562) 431-2255, ext. 407.

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