Coach to Stand Trial in Unlawful-Sex Case

A suspended high school football coach was ordered Thursday to stand trial on charges of repeatedly having unlawful sex with his adopted teenage daughter.

The case of Mark Aubrey Schuster, 48, head football coach at Corona del Mar High for two years until his arrest in September, now moves to Orange County Superior Court on Jan. 16. He had pleaded not guilty in Municipal Court in Newport Beach to charges of unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a minor.

Authorities allege Schuster regularly demanded sex from the girl as “payments” for gifts or as punishment for poor grades. The alleged molestation began in 1989 with inappropriate touching and escalated to intercourse in 1992, police and prosecutors have said.

The girl went to police in September, just after she turned 18. Schuster was charged only with crimes that allegedly occurred after he moved to Orange County in 1994.

Investigators have said in court documents they have obtained an incriminating taped conversation between Schuster and his daughter, and have seized sexually explicit photographs of the girl from his home.

Schuster previously released a statement proclaiming his innocence and saying he has the full support of his family, including his two children from his first marriage.

He was suspended without pay from Corona del Mar shortly after his arrest.