San Diego track coach, basketball coach are accused of molestation

Two high school coaches in the San Diego area have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing female students at separate high schools.

Keith Silvia, 49, the track coach and a supervisor at Santana High School surrendered to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department Thursday and was arrested on suspicion of molesting a high school junior and arranging a meeting to commit lewd acts with a minor.

Vista High School Basketball coach Charlie Mercado, 36, was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of misdemeanor child molestation.

Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Brislin said the Santana High School girl’s parents last month found explicit letters from an unknown person in their daughter’s backpack. The parents determined the letters’ author was Silvia, who works for the Grossmont Unified School District, and alerted the sheriff’s department.

“Detectives conducted an investigation and discovered Silvia fostered an intimate relationship with the victim and arranged more than one off-campus meeting where they engaged in inappropriate physical conduct,” Brislin said.

Silvia was booked on four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child under 18 and one felony charge of arranging a meeting for the purpose of lewd acts.

Meanwhile, in the Mercado investigation, a female Vista High School student reported to campus administrators that she was involved in an “inappropriate relationship” with the coach, Brislin said. Sheriff’s investigators determined that Mercado met the girl outside of the school, which is part of the Vista Unified School District, and had inappropriate physical contact, Brislin said. Mercado has been released in lieu of $10,000 bail.

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