Former Soccer Coach Sentenced to 61 Years for Sexual Abuse

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

Juan Manuel Pantoja Troncoso, 30, of Salton City was sentenced to 61 years and four months in state prison at the Banning Justice Center.

A jury convicted him 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 he was serving as a coach in the after-school education and safety program at Toro Canyon Middle School in Thermal. He was fired by the Coachella Valley Unified School District in 2020.

Officials say the sentencing brings closure to a deeply troubling case involving trusted authority and vulnerable students.