Former Coachella Valley Middle School Coach Sentenced to More Than 61 Years for Sex Crimes Against Students

A former Coachella Valley middle school soccer coach will spend more than six decades behind bars after being convicted of sexually abusing students.

Thirty-year-old Juan Manuel Pantoja Troncoso of Salton City was sentenced to 61 years and four months in state prison at the Banning Justice Center. A jury found him guilty in October of multiple charges, including forcible lewd acts on a child and contacting minors to commit sexual offenses.

Prosecutors say the crimes involved five girls between the ages of 12 and 14. The abuse occurred in 2019 while Troncoso was working as a coach in the afterschool education and safety program at Toro Canyon Middle School in Thermal.

Officials say he was later fired by the Coachella Valley Unified School District in 2020.

The sentencing brings closure to a case that centered on the safety of students and accountability within school programs serving young people in the community.

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