More Parents Contact Police in Wake of Sex Charges Against Coach

As prosecutors prepared child molestation charges against Clyde Ezra Turner, the renowned track coach at Pasadena’s John Muir High School, parents of a number of current and former students contacted police Tuesday about other potential victims.

Pasadena Police Lt. Keith Jones said detectives were seeking out students in an attempt to learn more about the man who led track athletes from Pasadena’s tough northwest neighborhoods to four state championships in a decade.

Jones said police had not contacted anyone else who said they had been molested by Turner.

Most school officials declined to comment Tuesday after administrators were told not to talk about the 43-year-old coach.

However, a former employee of the Pasadena Unified School District said an athletic official had warned several years ago that Turner may have been engaging in inappropriate behavior with some of the young athletes who were entrusted to his guidance.

“There were some bad vibes about Turner and kids,” the former employee said.

The former employee said Vera Vignes--the current school superintendent--knew about the warning, but said at the time that nothing could be done unless formal allegations were made against Turner.

At that time, none were, although parents of several John Muir students were reportedly upset that a number of young track athletes were spending nights at Turner’s home.

“To some people, that just didn’t seem right,” said one parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If there was talk, she said, Turner didn’t seem worried about it.

“He said nobody in the [school] administration would do anything to him because he brings too much good publicity to the district,” she said.

Vignes said Tuesday through a spokeswoman, Betsy Richman, that “there were never any official complaints” against Turner until the parents of the 15-year-old boy came forward.

“The superintendent is shocked” by the allegations against Turner, Richman said.

Richman dismissed the suggestion that the district should have acted sooner against Turner. “Let’s put rumors in their place,” she said. “They are called rumors because they are rumors . . . [and] the superintendent and staff never even heard any rumors about molestation,” Richman said.

School district Police Chief Jaredo Blue echoed Richman’s remarks about Turner, saying: “We’ve never had anyone tell my office anything like this about him.”

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, parent Rene Amy told trustees that a law enforcement officer mentioned similar allegations to him several weeks ago.

Board President Lisa Fowler responded: “There are a lot of assumptions around right now. They will all be thoroughly investigated.”

Turner’s arrest Monday came after the parents of the 15-year-old boy reported the alleged molestation to officials at John Muir. The suspect was released on $100,000 bail Tuesday. He has been placed on administrative leave from his jobs as a coach at Muir and a truant officer at Charles W. Eliot Middle School in Altadena.

Turner declined to comment Tuesday. He is to return to court May 28, when prosecutors are expected to file charges that include lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor and exhibiting harmful material with intent to seduce a minor.

According to a police report, the boy told his parents that he was molested Friday at Turner’s house after the onetime national track coach of the year invited him to watch a pornographic video.

Turner gave a conflicting version, according to the report. The coach said that he invited the boy to his house, but it was at the boy’s suggestion that they watched the video, the report said.

Turner said he “might have rubbed up against the victim a couple of times, which might have given the victim the wrong idea,” according to the report.