2 Say Coach Molested Them; Details Elusive

A preliminary hearing got underway Thursday afternoon in the criminal case against nationally renowned high school basketball coach Russell Otis, a Compton institution who is accused of molesting a player.

The Dominguez High coach, who has pleaded not guilty, was charged Nov. 17 with felony counts of sodomy by use of force and oral copulation, allegedly committed in October at his Carson townhouse. Otis also faces a charge of misdemeanor child molestation stemming from a separate alleged incident involving the same player this fall. If he is convicted, Otis could go to state prison for as long as nine years and eight months.

Otis, who is free on $100,000 bail, is also on unpaid leave from his job.

The player, a 17-year-old senior who is attending school in a different city, did not appear during three hours of testimony Thursday at Superior Court in Compton. He is expected to testify today, when the hearing, which is to determine whether there is enough evidence to go to trial, is expected to conclude.

“I think the case is going well,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Diana Martinez, declining to comment further.

But Thursday’s session exposed the difficulty the prosecution faces in corroborating its case. Martinez called two former Dominguez High students, now near 30, who say that Otis performed oral sex on them in the late 1980s.

Both struggled to recall details on their allegations. The first former student, a football player who cut Otis’ hair, could not say for certain whether he was molested. He testified that while staying at Otis’ house, he fell asleep after drinking wine coolers and awoke to soreness and to find his pants unzipped.

A second former student, an admitted drug dealer, came under attack for his criminal record, which includes a federal conviction and 60-month prison term. The former student, who lives out of state, testified that he had sexual contact with the coach during car rides home in 1988, but did not tell anyone until reading a story on the case last month in The Times.

“I think their testimony was exposed today for what it is: fabricated allegations by those who have motives to lie,” said Leonard B. Levine, Otis’ attorney.

Otis’ teams have won four state championships in the last five years and have sent several players to top college programs. The 17-year-old accuser transferred to Dominguez this fall to capitalize on Otis’ strong connections in the college basketball world.

The player’s lawyer, Randy McMurray of Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.’s law firm, says Otis lured the teenager into sex with promises of cash and cars.

Both sides agree the player sought to transfer out of Dominguez less than two months after arriving at school. The player’s family maintains the request was made to get away from Otis. The coach’s lawyers say the player was unhappy that he would not start on the varsity.