It has been reported that Anthony Serrano, 45, who has been in charge of the Santa Ana Boxing Club for the past 10 years was arrested on Sunday after police received a complaint involving a 15-year-old boy, who is in the boxing program accusing Mr. Serrano of Lewd and Lascivious acts with a minor in Orange County.
The victim was described by police as being a promising young boxer. Serrano allegedly kissed the boy in public at tournaments, as well as at the club, and molested him as many as 50 times over the past year.
“There were several incidents of fondling, as well as physical groping and kissing,” said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Serrano is well known locally for trying to keep young people off the streets through boxing. He was a former gang member who turned his own life around.
“He looks for kids that are vulnerable, kids that are looking up to him as a mentor, looking up to him as somebody to teach them a skill, and he’s taking advantage of it,” Bertagna said.
Joshua Diaz, the suspect’s roommate and a former boxer in the club, claims the alleged victim’s mother made up the accusations following a personal dispute with Serrano over an unrelated matter.
“It’s all false accusations. It’s all a lie, it’s a big lie,” said Joshua Diaz, the suspect’s roommate.
When someone is accused of sexual abuse it is common for everyone to rush to judgment and instead of presuming him innocent (as our law requires) they immediately believe he is guilty.
In this case there are allegations at the alleged victims mother had a motive to make up these allegations. We will not know the truth until a jury decides if in fact he is guilty or not guilty. Our system works if the public will allow it to work and reserve judgment.
If the accused is found guilty the court system will punish him severely and he will have to register as a sex offender. If it turns out that he his not guilty, his life will still be severely destroyed due to the adverse publicity associated with a wrongful accusation of sexual abuse.
If you or a loved one has been accused of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 or 15 years old, call the Southern California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich today at 888-280-6839. For over 30 years, we have defended innocent individuals who were wrongfully accused of child molestation in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties.
UPDATE:
Since Wallin & Klarich’s initial coverage of the story regarding Santa Ana Boxing Club coach and mentor Anthony Serrano – accused of committing lewd and lascivious acts with two 15 –year-old boys in his program – Serrano has plead guilty and been sentenced to two years in state prison. 1
According to prosecutors, the well known boxing coach sexually assaulted two 14-year-old boys in his home between May and October 2006. 2
One of the mothers of the abused boy along with the boy made victim impact statements in court where the boy indicated that he must regularly attend therapy sessions to heal from the assaults. 3
Serrano, 45, plead guilty to four felony counts of lewd acts on a child and will also have to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
1. [http://www.ocregister.com/articles/serrano-502011-prosecutors-authorities.html]↩
2. [Id.]↩
3. [Id.]↩
