A 28-year-old head track and field coach at Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana was arrested on Sunday, July 15, after he was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to three former student-athletes who were minors, authorities said.
Aaron Raya was taken into custody on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex crime, police said, and being held in jail on $100,000 bail.
The mother of a victim had seen inappropriate messages on her daughter’s phone and reported it, police said.
Investigators learned Raya, who is also an assistant coach for the school’s football team, began speaking with the victim through social media regarding track events during the school year, police said. After the victim graduated, Raya “immediately began contacting her in a sexual manner and attempted to meet with her.”
Detectives identified two more victims, also former track athletes of Godinez, who accused Raya of making sexual advances toward them in the same manner, police said.
All of the messages occurred within the last year, said Officer Natalie Garcia, a Santa Ana police spokeswoman.
Raya was arrested at his Santa Ana home and booked into Orange County Jail for a “sex-related charge,” police said.
In October 2021, Godinez High School’s athletics department announced on X that Raya was hired to be the school’s track coach. The post said Raya was already working for the Santa Ana Unified School District as a substitute teacher and assistant varsity football coach. He graduated from Godinez in 2014.
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