Chinatown rec center basketball coach charged with molesting teen player
A Chinatown area basketball coach has been charged with sexually abusing a teenage player on multiple occasions, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Thursday.
Tony Wong, 61, described by authorities as a respected coach at the Alpine Recreation Center in Chinatown, was arrested Wednesday by Los Angeles Police detectives. He was charged with 12 counts of a lewd act on a child who was 14 or 15. Prosecutors say the sexual abuse occurred between Jan. 1, 2004, and Aug. 4, 2004.
According to prosecutors, Wong began grooming the boy when he was 14 and invited him to play for his team. A year later, Wong began sexually molesting the teen at the center and in hotel rooms when the team traveled to other cities, prosecutors say.
Wong was released later Wednesday on $240,000 bond. The coach, who resides in San Gabriel, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 17.
If convicted, Wong faces 10 years, eight months in state prison.
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