Coach faces 210 years
TENNIS instructor Nikolaos “Nick” Philippoussis has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of sexually assaulting two nineyear-old girls he was privately coaching and faces a 210-year sentence if found guilty.
The 68-year-old Australian appeared in handcuffs at the San Diego Superior Court, where he was slapped with a massively increased bail of $9.2m, up from $2.5 million.
His lawyers did not oppose the bail increase, saying it was commensurate with such grave charges — and said Mr Philippoussis would not be applying because he could not raise it anyway.
Mr Philippoussis’s partner and his son, Mark, 40, the former tennis star, who like his father lives in San Diego, were in court to give support but made no comment to the media.
Deputy District Attorney Garret Wong said the numerous alleged assaults took place over a year and were regarded as extremely serious.
“I think what’s most concerning is the defendant being in a position of trust, and it’s probably any parent’s worst nightmare, of having someone in that position of trust, a teacher, a coach, an instructor and then to violate that trust repeatedly over this amount of time, yeah, it’s serious,” he said after the brief arraignment.
The assaults are alleged to have occurred at Fairbanks Ranch, an exclusive gated community, at Mr Philippoussis’s home and his vehicle.
Mr Wong declined to comment on how the complaints came to light or how long the investigation had been running. But police said they had put strategies in place to stop him “taking a Qantas flight home” had he become aware they were moving on him.
Each of the 15 counts carries a 15 years to life sentence range. The most serious are counts one and two, which allege “oral copulation/sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger”.
The remaining 12 counts, all described as a “lewd act upon a child”, carry additional special allegations, meaning they were committed against more than one victim.
“Adding that all up, the maximum exposure is 210 years to life,” Mr Wong said.
Philippoussis, required to surrender his Australian passport, is being held in protective custody in the San Diego Central Jail. He has several minor health issues but is otherwise considered well.
The case will be mentioned again in 10 days.