Torrance High School Wrestling Coach Held On Charges Of Lewd Acts With Students

A 47-year-old head wrestling coach employed at Torrance High School in Torrance, California, was arrested on suspicion of being involved in sexual acts with several students. According to CBS Los Angeles, the coach, identified as Thomas Snider, was arrested on Wednesday on 33 felony counts. He is accused of “inappropriately touching” 25 male students from the Torrance high school. Many of the alleged incidents date back to 2013 the report said, citing authorities.

According to Sgt. Paul Kranke of the Torrance Police Department, Thomas Snider has also been charged with eight misdemeanour counts of child annoyance. Officials added that Snider turned himself in to the police after he came to the local police station. He is currently being held on a $900,000 bail.

It was back in January, 2015, that first reports of Snider being involved in lewd acts with his own students surfaced. The accusations came from several of his students. Following the revelations, a three-month-long investigation was launched by police detectives, after which they turned over their findings to the District Attorney’s Office. Snider was placed on administrative leave during this entire period of time, the report adds.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Torrance Unified School District, Tammy Khan has issued a brief statement confirming that Snider has been now placed on unpaid leave. The status would remain till the outcome of the legal proceedings is revealed.

The statement reads as follows.

“Mr. Snider has been a TUSD teacher since 1990, teaching career technical education courses. As this is a personnel and legal matter, the district will have no further comment pending the outcome of the court proceedings.”

Interestingly, all the charges that have been filed against Snider are by students from the wrestling team he had been coaching. According to the Daily Breeze, no such complaints have come from students of his computer classes.

Meanwhile, Karim Girgis, the Principal of the Torranace High School, has sent a letter to the parents of all the students at the school.

“Both Torrance HS and TUSD take student safety very seriously, and we fully cooperated with the Torrance Police Department during their investigation. Please be advised that the administrative team is available to answer any questions or concerns.”

Back in January, when the accusations first surfaced, Snider’s attorney Richard J. Schwab had dismissed all accusations as “without substance” and told that the case was an “unfair situation” for a man of “great integrity.” He had also issued a statement back then which read as follows.

“This has been very devastating to him and to his family and whoever is doing this is making some very malicious accusations. It’s unfortunate we are living today in a world where allegations take on a life of their own and can potentially ruin people’s lives.”

Over the course of the past few weeks, the Inquisitr has reported about several cases of teachers being involved in sexual acts with students. Is this becoming an increasingly disturbing trend?

[Image via the Daily Breeze]