A judge Friday increased bail to more than $1.4 million for a former girls’ basketball coach at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, who is charged with sex-related counts involving a female student.
Joseph Alan Kikuchi, 56, of Monterey Park, was ordered taken into custody during his initial court appearance, but a bail bondsman was expected to post the increased bond on his behalf, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Kikuchi’s arraignment was rescheduled to Dec. 1. He is charged with 13 felony counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, five counts of committing a lewd act on a child and one count of oral copulation of a person under 16, along with five misdemeanor counts of child molestation.
Kikuchi was the girls’ varsity basketball coach at the high school at the time of the alleged crimes, which occurred between February and September, according to Deputy District Attorney Rena Durrant.
An Alhambra Unified School District administrator last month heard a rumor regarding an intimate relationship allegedly occurring between a student and her basketball coach and asked police to investigate, Sgt. Jerry Johnson said.
“The investigation showed that on numerous occasions over the last year, there was unlawful sexual contact between the coach and the female player,” the police sergeant said.
Kikuchi — a walk-on coach — resigned Sept. 15.
He was released on $100,000 bond following his Sept. 24 arrest.
If convicted as charged, he faces up to 20 years in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
—City News Service