Cerritos College women’s soccer coach, Ruben Gonzalez has been suspended from his job at Bishop Amat High School, after, according to Catholic Church officials, being under investigation for inappropriately behaving with a female student three years ago.
Bishop Amat President Monsignor Aidan Carroll sent a letter to parents March 30 in which he wrote that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.
“As of now, there has not been an arrest, nor has a crime report been filed, however it is an ongoing inquiry,” said LAPD Officer, Sara Faden.
The LAPD begun to look into the matter, when according to police, Child Family Services informed them late last month.
The alleged misconduct occurred at a different high school at least three years ago, said authorities.
While authorities have not named the school where Gonzalez worked at the time of the allegation, his attorney said he previously coached soccer at Immaculate Heart School in Los Angeles.
“The priority for the Archdiocese is protecting our children,” said Archdiocese spokeswoman, Carolina Guevara, “while we work closely with law enforcement officials, the Archdiocese has investigators who are conducting a separate investigation.”
Gonzalez said in a statement that he is aware of the “false allegation,” however; he referred any further questions to his attorney.
Gonzalez, who has led the Cerritos women’s soccer team to back-to-back state titles in 2007 and 2008 coaches numerous other teams including; The Whittier Soccer Club, Cerritos United Soccer Club, The San Gabriel Valley Flyers girls under 17 and boys under 15.
Gonzalez’s attorney, Tomas Requejo, said in a statement, “We are talking about a guy who has coached for more than 20 years without any problems. After the investigation is over I hope the detective, school and Archdiocese are as quick to restore my client’s outstanding reputation as they were to announce the unsubstantiated allegation.”
Cerritos College said in a statement concerning Gonzalez, ” Cerritos College will assist in a review of Mr. Gonzalez that is, or will be conducted by other organizations-if requested. The Human Resources Department managers will also monitor the situation to determine if the results of a review affect his part-time employment with the College. However, since the situation is a personal matter, the preponderance of information obtained in this matter will remain confidential.”
