A Filipino living in California will now likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was convicted of molesting minors and sentenced to 250 years in prison late last week.
Former tennis coach Normandie Santos Burgos, 55 years old, was found guilty of molesting two teenage boys in 2014. The verdict was made by jurors on Thursday, May 2 (California time), The Mercury News reported.
He was convicted of 60 counts of child molestation including oral copulation and sodomy with a minor. Burgos was found to have threatened the two boys, both under 17 at the time, to perform sex acts during private lessons.
But this was not the first time he was accused of molesting minors.
In 2006, Burgos was fired as the tennis coach of Tamalpais High School in Marin County, California following accusations that he touched teen boys inappropriately, the East Bay Times reported. He went on trial in 2010 but was not convicted because the jurors failed to reach a verdict.
He then started the private coaching company the Burgos Tennis Foundation under the alias “Antonio,” ABS-CBN News reported. He was arrested again in 2017 when one of the two teenage boys he molested in 2014 came forward. Authorities discovered the other victim in the course of the investigation.
Burgos’ lawyer argued that the two boys were not forced to do the sex acts. However, he was found guilty after evidence, including a video showing him forcing himself on a minor, proved otherwise, GMA News reported.
The coach also reportedly said that he would only recommend his students for college scholarships if they have sex with him. Deputy district attorney Jordan Sanders called Burgos’ threats extortion, explaining that one of the two boys was impoverished and was forced to take Burgos’ lessons because the coach offered it at a discounted rate.
