A former Long Beach Unified School District employee was taken into custody Monday on suspicion of touching an underage girl while he volunteered as a coach at Jordan High School, and police say there may be more victims.
Lakewood resident Michael Quigley, 74, was arrested on suspicion of seven misdemeanor counts each of sexual battery and annoying or molesting a child under the again of 18, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Inmate records show he was released Monday night after posting a $100,000 bond.
The arrest comes after a girl in October 2022 told police that Quigley had touched her inappropriately while serving as a volunteer water polo and swim coach, authorities said.
When detectives began investigating Quigley, they identified more victims and found out that the alleged abuse dated back to at least 2021, police said.
The case was presented to the Long Beach’s Prosecutor’s Office, which filed the criminal complaint and issued the warrant for Quigley’s arrest, authorities said.
Quigley was a pool attendant and operator at Jordan High School from 1983 to 2017, but he continued to serve at the school as a volunteer water polo coach after that, said LBUSD spokesperson Chris Eftychiou.
“The Long Beach Unified School District takes seriously any allegation of this nature and cooperates with law enforcement on such investigations,” Eftychiou said. The school district removed Mr. Quigley as a volunteer when concerns were brought to our attention in October 2022.”
Eftychiou said that the district could not comment any further, citing the ongoing investigation and rules protecting employee confidentiality, but he added that Quigley will not be returning as a volunteer.
Anyone with information can contact detectives at 562-570-7321.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Quigley was released on bond.
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