Former coach pleads not guilty to sexual relations with former student, soliciting nude photos
Burbank High girls’ volleyball coach Kyle Roach applauds during a game against Crescenta Valley on Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Roach was arrested in June 2015 for having sexual relations with a former student and anonymously soliciting nudes from two volleyball players.
A former Burbank High School varsity girls volleyball coach pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he had a sexual relationship with a former student five years ago and solicited nude photos from players this year, officials said.
Glendale resident Kyle Roach, 28, was charged earlier this month with one count of oral copulation of a minor and two counts of child molesting, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Each of the three counts included in the criminal complaint involves a different victim. The two misdemeanor child-molesting offenses allegedly occurred between Feb. 1 and June 18, and May 1 and June 18, respectively, while the felony oral copulation offense allegedly occurred in October 2010. The victim in the oral copulation offense was 17 at the time.
If convicted, Roach faces up to five years in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
Roach was arrested last month after two students came forward with suspicions that anonymous messages requesting nude photos were coming from their coach, police said. The students were 16 and 17 years old.
The investigation also revealed that Roach, who according to school officials has served as a substitute teacher, allegedly had an ongoing sexual relationship with a former student while she was a minor. The woman is now an adult and no longer attends Burbank High.
Roach, who is out of police custody on bail, is due back in court later this week.
The school district decided not to renew Roach’s contract in June, according to Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill.
Roach started coaching at Burbank High five years ago, after spending a year coaching volleyball at Crescenta Valley High School, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Parent John Reynolds, whose daughter is on the volleyball team, said Tuesday that the team has moved on from the incident and has gone on to win 11 games during tournaments this summer.
“All the parents are really super proud of them — they are what matters,” Reynolds said. “We’re happy that they’re strong and they’re safe.”