STOCKTON - Local and national soccer associations reviewed or revamped screening processes for coaches over the past year after learning of sexual assault charges against a father and son with ties to Stockton’s youth soccer community.
U.S. Club Soccer now requires coaches to submit a background check application before they interact with children. The changes came as authorities closed in on Ernie P. Roxas, 53, a former Stockton Youth Soccer Association coach who was arrested near Las Vegas last month on felony charges of rape, lewd acts upon a child and sexual abuse of a child younger than 18.
Roxas’ attorney said she was preparing a motion arguing that time had run out for prosecutors to file criminal charges, but San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Angela Hayes said she believes a judge will deny the motion when Roxas returns to court next month.
A woman made the report in March 2006, “many years after it happened,” according to Stockton police. Roxas’ ex-wife, Virginia Torrez-Summers, said the woman is a relative who made the same accusations against Roxas years ago before rescinding them, saying she had lied.
Roxas taught at Fremont Middle School in Stockton from 1975 to 1999. Torrez-Summers said Roxas coached football, baseball and soccer at Edison, Stagg and Lincoln high schools.
“He’s been a teacher all his life,” said Torrez-Summers, who was married to Roxas from 1970 to 2001. “You would think if he was some big child molester, girls would have said something before, but in all the years I was married to him, none of this stuff ever surfaced.”
A yearlong police investigation of Roxas shook the local soccer community. Detectives visited area coaches, league officials and high schools. Sources said investigators asked questions about Roxas and circulated fliers with photographs of his son, Jerrus Roxas, a former Lincoln soccer standout who was accused of raping a female student while attending Santa Clara University.
Jerrus Roxas, 28, pleaded no contest to felony sexual battery in 2001. The charge later was reduced to a misdemeanor and eventually removed from his record in 2006, said Steven Fein, an attorney with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Jerrus Roxas helped Santa Clara reach consecutive NCAA Final Fours in 1998-99. He left Santa Clara before graduating and spent eight months with a developmental team affiliated with Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. He returned to Stockton in 2000 and started a landscaping business, Simply Green Gardening. He also started a short-lived youth soccer academy last spring.
Jerrus Roxas would not discuss his criminal history, but he spoke in support of his father.
“There have been alleged rumors about my father, but right now he’s not really in trouble,” Jerrus Roxas said. “You’re innocent until proven guilty, and at this point he’s still innocent.”
Youth organization leaders say they don’t want to take chances. Many use the Department of Justice or Megan’s Law online public sex offender registries when checking on potential coaches. Some pay private firms up to $50 to run each criminal background check.
Neither Ernie Roxas nor Jerrus Roxas is listed in sex offender registries.
U.S. Club Soccer officials sent an e-mail to national affiliates outlining new background checks on March 19, days after one area soccer coach received a phone call informing him that Jerrus Roxas was no longer allowed to coach U.S. Club Soccer.
The organization now requires coaches and administrators to undergo annual background checks. Coaches must fill out an online risk management application that includes questions about previous convictions. They also are required to sign consent forms giving the organization permission to conduct criminal background checks. Failure to submit a background check application, or falsifying the application, can result in an immediate suspension.
Other youth organizations have instituted background checks and sometimes have additional requirements.
The Boy Scouts of America requires at least two adult leaders at every activity so no adult is alone with a child. Little League Baseball and Softball requires each league to conduct an annual background check on all volunteers.
The California Youth Soccer Association and Stockton Youth Soccer Association require the risk management form that includes questions about prior convictions.
With more than 200 teams and 400 coaches, SYSA is Stockton’s largest youth soccer organization. Criminal background checks can prove costly for nonprofit organizations, but SYSA has an arrangement with the Stockton Police Department. Julie Barkett, a former SYSA board member and evidence technician with the Stockton Police Department, received permission from the chief of police to conduct after-hours background checks.
According to SYSA President Stephen Clark, Barkett and another board member with police authorization then make recommendations. Clark said Jerrus Roxas approached the SYSA board last May with a proposal to train recreational players. A detective raised concerns within 48 hours, and Clark said Jerrus Roxas never responded to a subsequent e-mail outlining the league’s background check procedure.
SYSA adopted its screening process four years ago after a Modesto court sentenced Ronald Inman to 61 years in prison for molestation in 2002. Inman, a former teacher and soccer coach, was convicted on multiple counts of molestation.
“It’s common knowledge that the inroads for a lot of pedophiles are to get involved in youth sports organizations,” Clark said. “I’ve been involved in other youth sports, and more often than not, they’re starving for volunteers. The cost of doing these kinds of background checks is challenging and could be prohibitive, but it’s worth the investment.”
Author - Jason Anderson
