A former girls’ varsity volleyball coach at Burbank High School pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from an alleged sexual relationship with one of his students and sexually explicit text messages sent to two other students.
Kyle Patrick Roach, 28, of Glendale, is charged with one felony count of oral copulation of a person under 18, along with two misdemeanor counts of child molesting or annoyance.
Roach is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a student beginning in 2010, when she was 17, as well as anonymously sending sexually explicit text messages to two other students between February and June.
Two students from the school came forward when they began to suspect that Roach was sending the text messages, Burbank police Lt. Adam Cornils said after Roach’s arrest last month.
“It is believed that Roach initiated numerous sexually related text message communications with current members of the Burbank High School varsity girls’ volleyball team,” the lieutenant said. “Roach used text messages and social media phone applications, anonymously, to solicit nude photos from underage females.”
The investigation also resulted in the identification of a woman who claimed she had an ongoing sexual relationship with Roach while she was under 18, Cornils said.
Roach is “no longer an employee,” according to Kimberley Clark of the Burbank Unified School District.
If convicted as charged, he could face up to five years in state prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
— City News Service