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Youth Soccer Coach Sentenced To 225-To-Life After Sexually Assaulting Players

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former youth soccer coach has been sentenced to 225 years-to-life after being convicted of committing lewd acts on six boys he coached.

Jose Duarte, 44, was convicted of 20 felony counts of lewd acts with a child, in addition to five felony counts of showing harmful material to a minor. The sentence was imposed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Henry Hall after Duarte was convicted on February 14.

Duarte coached USA, an independent league team that practiced and played at locations that included MacArthur Park and Vista Hermosa Park.

The crimes that involved six boys between the ages of 11 and 14 occurred between May 2009 and June 2011, and took place primarily in Duarte's apartment in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles, as well as inside a van in his garage, according to Deputy District Attorney Rachel Moser Greene.

"He was using his position of trust," Greene said following the February verdict.

Duarte was arrested back in June of 2011, after a 13-year old boy reported that he had been sexually assaulted by the soccer coach. Following the arrest, authorities learned of the additional victims.

(©2012 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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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