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Former Monterey Park Basketball Coach Charged With Sexually Abusing Student

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 56-year old former basketball coach from Monterey Park was charged on Thursday with sexually abusing a female high school student.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that Joseph Kikuchi has been charged with 19 felonies and five misdemeanors.

According to the District Attorney's Office, the alleged crimes were committed when Kikuchi was the girls' varsity basketball coach at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra.

The prosecutor in the case said that details of the alleged inappropriate relationship between Kikuchi and the female student began circulating around the school starting in July.

A member of the staff at the school relayed the information to law enforcement, who then began an investigation into the alleged crimes committed by Kikuchi.

The alleged suspect is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and would be registered as a sex offender for his entire life.

The Alhambra Police Department is currently still investigating the case.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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