UPDATE | Attorneys representing four female former student athletes at John F. Kennedy High School in Anaheim announced today the filing of two separate lawsuits against the Anaheim Unified High School District, International Water Polo Club, USA Water Polo and two former water polo coaches, alleging the men sexually abused the underage plaintiffs.
The suits, filed in Orange County Superior Court, allege that the defendants concealed from the plaintiffs’ parents and law enforcement officials the fact that victims were or may have been sexually abused, harassed and molested by the coaches.
A request for comment left with the AUHSD superintendent’s office was not immediately returned.
Barham Hojreh was a coach for the girls’ water polo team at Kennedy High School, employed by the AUHSD, according to the lawsuits. He was also employed as a water polo coach at the International Water Polo Club in Los Alamitos and was a member and agent of USA Water Polo, the Olympic Governing Body for Water Polo, the document states.
Joshua Owens was a part-time girls water polo coach and swim coach at Kennedy High School, again within AUHSD. He was also a seasonal lifeguard for the Long Beach Fire Department, according to the filing.
According to one of the lawsuits, Hojreh allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted three girls aged 14 to 16 while coaching them at the International Water Polo Club, including at USA Water Polo sanctioned events.
Owens is alleged to have sexually assaulted one of the same girls allegedly abused by Hojreh, as well as a separate student athlete while coaching them at Kennedy High School, according to the complaints.
Both Hojreh and Owens were subsequently arrested and charged with crimes against those minors, according to attorney Morgan Stewart, who filed the complaints on behalf of the four “Jane Doe” plaintiffs.
On Aug. 29, Owens pleaded guilty to two felony charges of oral copulation and sexual penetration with underage victims and six misdemeanor counts of child annoyance, the lawyer said. Owens is scheduled to begin his prison sentence on Oct. 12. Hojreh is awaiting trial on charges including sexual battery, lewd acts upon a child and sexual penetration, Stewart said.
Stewart called the cases a “truly horrific example of the failure of adults to protect children from the predators that lurk in youth sports.”
“Here we have two sexual predators operating at a single school, both coaches in the school’s water polo program,” he said. “That cannot be coincidental and clearly shows a failure at the administrative level.”
Stewart alleged the plaintiffs “were physically, emotionally and sexually abused by prominent coaches whom they trusted to nurture their athletic goals.”
“The Anaheim Unified High School District, International Water Polo Club and USA Water Polo had reason to know that these coaches engaged in unlawful sexually-related conduct in the past, and/or was continuing to engage in such conduct,” he said. “Yet they give these predators access to our clients and did nothing to prevent their abuse.”
PREVIOUSLY: Former Long Beach lifeguard pleads guilty to sexual assault of three teenage girls
8/29/18 at 6:45 p.m. | A former high school water polo and swim coach pleaded guilty today to sexually assaulting three teenage girls and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Joshua Christopher Owens, 24, of La Palma, pleaded guilty to one felony count each of oral copulation of a victim younger than 16 and sexual penetration of a victim younger than 16, as well as six misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.
He was given until Oct. 12 to begin his jail sentence. Owens was a part-time water polo and swim coach at Kennedy High School in La Palma and also worked as a lifeguard in Long Beach, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Owens met the three girls, between 14 and 16 years old, through his coaching job. The sexual assaults happened at locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, prosecutors said.
Owens sexually assaulted one girl between September 2014 and April 2015. Another girl was fondled and he touched himself in front of her between January and June 2016, according to prosecutors.
He kissed a third girl multiple times on various occasions between March and June of last year, prosecutors said.
Owens’ attorney, Jonathan Lynn, said his client “felt that resolving this case with a plea was in the best interests of all parties involved in this matter. My client wanted to take responsibility for his conduct and give closure to the victims and their families.”
PREVIOUSLY: Former Long Beach Lifeguard Ordered Back to Court After Pleading Not Guilty to Sexual Assault of Female Teens
1/12/17 at 8:50 p.m. | by Stephanie Rivera | A pretrial hearing is scheduled next month for a former Long Beach lifeguard who pleaded not guilty last Friday to charges of sexually assaulting three females students between 14 and 16 years old.
La Palma resident Joshua Christopher Owens, 23, was charged with one felony count of oral copulation of a minor under 16, one felony count of digital penetration of a minor, and six misdemeanor counts of child annoyance.
Owens was a part-time water polo swim coach at Kennedy High School (KHS) in La Palma and a seasonal lifeguard in Long Beach at the time of the crime, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities said Owens was in a position of trust with access to minors from 2014 to 2016 through his position as a coach at KHS, where he met all three victims. He is accused of assaulting the victims at various locations in the counties of Los Angeles and Orange.
The defendant allegedly sexually assaulted one girl between September 2014 and April 2015 by “orally copulating and digitally penetrating the victim” and touching her breast, according to the OCDA.
Owens allegedly molested another girl by fondling her and touching himself in front of her between January and June of last year, authorities said.
Between March and June of last year, Owens is accused of kissing the victim with sexual intent on multiple occasions.
The Buena Park Police Department (BPPD) arrested Owens on November 21, 2016 after an investigation into the case that began earlier that month, authorities said.
Owens faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in state prison, plus six years in county jail, if convicted.
The defendant was ordered to return to court February 15 for a pretrial hearing in Department N12, North Justice Center in Fullerton.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Photo courtesy of Buena Park Police Department.