56-year-old LA high school wrestling coach, Terry Terrell Gillard, charged with sexually assaulting four students in three years
Los Angeles wrestling coach charged with sexually assaulting one female and three male students, Thursday
Terry Terrell Gillard was coach for both male and female wrestling teams at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley from 2014 through 2017
Gillard, 56, is charged with 23 counts of lewd sex acts upon a child ages 14 or 15
Charges also include two counts attempted lewd acts on a child, one count sexual battery by restraint, four counts misdemeanor child annoyance
Gillard faces 24 years in state prison if convicted on all counts
Bail is requested at $750,000
Terry Terrell Gillard, wrestling coach at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School has been charged with sexually assaulting four students.
Terry Terrell Gillard coach for both the male and female wrestling teams at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley was charged with more than two dozen counts relating to allegations sexual assaults of four students, the LA County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Gillard, 56, is facing 23 counts of lewd sex acts upon a child ages 14 or 15, two counts of attempted lewd acts on a child and one count of sexual battery by restraint, KTLA reported. He was also charged with four misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.
The coach allegedly began abusing students he met through the wrestling team at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School, from 2014 through 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The school has both a male and female wrestling team and the victims include three boys and a girl, according to DA’s office.
Gillard the school district said in a statement, worked as a campus aide at the Sun Valley high school where he also served as a wrestling coach.
“Mr. Gillard was immediately reassigned from the school,” Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Michelle King said in the statement.
“The safety and well-being of our students remains our top priority. While we recognize that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, these allegations are extremely upsetting and we take them very seriously.”
Terry Terrell Gillard was wrestling coach for both male and female teams at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, Calif.
Gillard, a resident of Slymar, was arrested by LAPD and arraigned Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles County Superior Court, San Fernando Branch where he pled not guilty on all counts.
He is scheduled to return to court in San Fernando on June 29, according to My News LA.
If convicted, Gillard faces up to 24 years behind bars.
Police said he remains a subject of an ongoing investigation by the LAPD’s juvenile division. The district said it was cooperating with the investigation.
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