Pierre Jonas Hernandez, a former A former South Pasadena High School track coach pleaded no contest to charges of molesting a 16-year-old student, officials said Friday.
According to a statement by Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani, Hernandez, age 33, was charged with misdemeanor charges of sexual battery and child molestation during his trial last week,
Alhambra Superior Court Judge Jon Takasugi sentenced Hernandez Friday to 180 days in jail, to be served by electronic monitoring, five years of summary probation and 30 days of community service, Ardalani said.
Hernandez was ordered to register as a sex offender for life, and needs to avoid contact with any of his alleged victims for a period of 10 years as well as to attend 52 weeks of sexual compulsion classes.
“According to testimony at trial, a 16-year-old female student came forward in April 2014 and said Hernandez gave her a massage behind a locked door,” Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said. “The massage included inappropriately touching the victim by reaching under her shorts and touching the victim’s buttocks.”
South Pasadena police Detective Mike Palmieri said that similar allegations were made by least one more student once the investigation began but additional charges were not filed as the statute of limitations had expired.
Hernandez had served as track coach at South Pasadena High School for about seven years, police added.
The final status conference was originally scheduled for March of this year, then was delayed until May 14 because of the COVID-19 crisis and theclosing of all courthouses. Judge Ralph Hofer then rescheduled it again, this time for June 22. No trial date is set.
