Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials asked Friday for the public’s help in finding other potential alleged victims of a 1984 Olympic boxing champion and county-employed boxing coach facing eight felony counts, including lewd acts on a child, involving a girl.
Paul Gonzales, 53, worked for the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department as the head coach at the Eddie Heredia Boxing Club on East Olympic Boulevard in East Los Angeles for the past 10 years, according to sheriff’s Lt. Todd Deeds.
“He’s probably better known for being a gold-medal winner for the United States in the 1984 Olympics in the sport of boxing,” the lieutenant said, referring to Gonzales’ Olympic victory as a light flyweight.
The girl — described only as “under 14” — met Gonzales at the boxing club last year, where she was a student, the lieutenant said.
“We believe that he befriended her and that he groomed her and we believe that lewd conduct was committed against her over a period of time,” Deeds told reporters, declining to specify where the alleged crimes occurred.
“Based on the facts we’ve gained from the investigation and the fact that Mr. Gonzales has worked at the gym for a long period of time and had access to lots of children, specifically females during that time, we’re very concerned we have more victims out there that have never disclosed to law enforcement so that’s why we’re putting this out to the public and trying to reach potential victims,” the sheriff’s lieutenant said.
Gonzales was arrested near his home Dec. 29 following an investigation that ensued after the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by one of the girl’s family members, Deeds said.
He remains behind bars at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles in lieu of $545,000 bail.
He is set to be arraigned Jan. 18 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on four counts of lewd act upon a child and one count each of attempted lewd act upon a child, possession of child or youth pornography, distributing or showing pornography to a minor and contact with a minor for a sexual offense.
The criminal complaint, filed Wednesday, alleges that the lewd acts occurred on or between May 1 and Aug. 9 last year, and that the other crimes occurred on or between Aug. 1 and Dec. 29.
Anyone with relevant information about the case was urged to contact the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-5273.
–City News Service