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Basketball coach is charged with numerous sex crimes

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A Santa Clarita Valley-area youth basketball coach was scheduled for arraignment late last week on sex-related charges involving eight boys who either played on teams he coached or were trained by him.

Jeremy Andre Haggerty, 34, is scheduled to appear in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom in connection with eight counts of sexual battery, four counts of lewd act upon a child and one count of attempted lewd act upon a child, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Haggerty — who could face up to 14 years in state prison if convicted as charged — worked as a basketball coach at two schools in the Santa Clarita Valley, along with working as a personal basketball trainer, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors allege that the crimes — involving eight boys ranging in age from 14 to 17 — occurred over the course of nearly a decade.

Haggerty was arrested early Thursday morning by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has remained behind bars since then, according to jail records.

“All of the victims were coached by the suspect during his employment as a basketball coach at several high schools in the Santa Clarita Valley,” according to a statement released by the sheriff’s department. “The incidents occurred over a period of several years, dating back to 2008.”

The investigation was conducted by the sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau. The bureau’s Sgt. Brian Hudson told The Santa Clarita Valley Signal that investigators suspect there may be additional victims “due to the time frame” involved in the probe.

He told the newspaper the alleged misconduct primarily occurred during one-on-one training sessions with students and did not happen on school campuses.

Sheriff’s officials did not identify any of the schools where Haggerty worked. The Signal reported, however, that Haggerty coached at Trinity Classical Academy in Santa Clarita from August 2014 to 2016. He was an assistant coach at West Ranch High School in 2012-13 and worked on and off as an assistant coach at Canyon High School, the newspaper reported.

When allegations against Haggerty first surfaced in August, Trinity officials sent a letter to parents advising them of the investigation.

“The allegations consist of inappropriate conduct with a former, now-adult student for incidents that occurred several years ago,” according to the letter, which was published by The Signal.

“The incidents did not occur within the confines of Trinity Classical Academy’s campus, nor in the employee’s official employment capacity, but occurred with a student who participated in private training with this individual.”

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