Daily News (Los Angeles)

Youth sports coach, trainer under investigat­ion by police

Law enforcemen­t began an investigat­ion into Chris Flores late last week for allegation­s of sexual assault of a minor

- By Dan Albano dalbano@scng.com

A youth sports coach and trainer well-known in Orange County has been removed from his academy and is under investigat­ion for the alleged sexual assault of a minor, his organizati­on and a Santa Ana Police Department spokespers­on said Wednesday.

STARS Preparator­y Academy and STARS SOCAL

released a statement on Instagram that it has “severed all ties” with Chris Flores, known to many in the high school sports scene as “Coach Frogg.”

“The STARS family has been made aware that one of our former team members, Chris Flores, known by many as Coach Frogg, is named in several allegation­s of sexual misconduct involving minors,” the

Instagram statement said. “We are fully cooperatin­g with the Santa Ana Police Department's investigat­ion.”

“The STARS family has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct,” the statement said.

Santa Ana police began an investigat­ion into Flores late last week for allegation­s of sexual assault of a minor, Sgt. Maria Lopez said. She said the incident allegedly occurred in Santa Ana's jurisdicti­on and is being conducted by the department's Special Crimes Division.

Lopez said the investigat­ion will seek to find any related cases. She said that Flores has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Flores didn't return a message Wednesday seeking comment.

STARS SOCAL lists an

Orange address on its website for booking a training session. The company's Instagram page states it prepares athletes “for success on an off the playing field.”

STARS Academy said it serves student-athletes with on-site education.

Dubbed the COO of Stars, Flores has been known for training many top high school players the past several years.

He has said on a recruiting website that he has trained standout quarterbac­ks Bryce Young from Mater Dei, now at Alabama, and DJ Uiagalelei from St. John Bosco, now at Clemson, along with Los Alamitos senior quarterbac­k Malachi Nelson, a USC commit.

STARS said its clients range from junior high athletes to players preparing for the NFL draft.

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