Ex-Coach Has Molestation Case Delayed

A former cheerleading coach accused of molesting a 13-year-old Santa Ana boy made a brief court appearance Wednesday, but her arraignment was postponed after the woman’s attorney asked for more time to review police reports.

Heather Jean Graham, 35, a Santa Ana homemaker, was accompanied by her husband and three children. She would not comment on the case.

Her attorney, John Barnett, said he did not enter a plea for Graham because he had received copies of the charges against her only on the previous day. Graham’s arraignment was rescheduled for Jan. 5.

Orange County prosecutors, after a monthlong investigation by Santa Ana police, charged Graham on Tuesday with three felony counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a person under 14 years of age. If she is convicted, she could face as much as 12 years in prison, Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy said.

Graham was arrested in November on suspicion of having had consensual sex with an eighth-grader at Willard Intermediate School. Graham was a parent volunteer for the school’s cheerleading squad.