Coach pleads no contest to two felony, one misdemeanor count of sexual abuse.
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A basketball coach who had earned the respect of several local families when
he coached their daughters is facing six years in prison after pleading no
contest to two felony counts; sexual penetration by a foreign object and
unlawful sexual intercourse and one misdemeanor count of child molesting.
Kevin Lamont Thomas, 40, had been coaching three Canyon High basketball
players as well as some players from the Hart women’s team when he was arrested
June 10 by the Los Angeles Police Department. He was also a basketball coach and
special education teacher’s assistant at Birmingham
High School in Van Nuys.
Four of Thomas’s victims were in court Thursday and told Judge Karen Nudell
about their experience. Nudell ordered Thomas back to court for sentencing Nov.
21. He is expected to be sentenced to six years in state prison.
Upon sentencing, the defendant may not contact the victims in the case or
any underage female students whom he coached. Thomas, who will be required to
register as a sex offender, also will be prohibited from coaching any minor
girls in the future.
As part of a negotiated plea agreement, 14 counts are expected to be
dismissed at the time of sentencing. The defendant has been in custody since
his arrest in June.