Fencing coach arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse
SUNNYVALE >> A fencing coach has been arrested and criminally charged on allegations that he groomed then sexually abused a teen girl under his tutelage over a span of several years, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
Ra’ad Rabieh, 49, was arrested July 7 on suspicion of two counts of oral copulation with a minor. Court records show that charges were formally filed against him June 23, and jail records show that he is out of custody.
Sunnyvale police say that Rabieh was the victim’s longtime fencing coach and that he groomed the girl by buying her gifts, giving her special treatment, and traveling alone with her to fencing competitions. Rabieh owns the International Fencing Academy on South Mary Avenue in Sunnyvale.
Through his attorney, Melissa E. Adams, Rabieh declined to comment for this story.
“At this time, we are not in a position to comment on the arrest or the allegations,” Adams wrote in an email to this news organization. “I ask that you respect my client’s privacy at this time.”
The woman, now in her 20s, first reported the allegations in February to the U.S. Center for SafeSport. According to a police report, she described to a detective how Rabieh treated her differently once she turned 16 in 2014 — three years after she started going to the fencing school — and how their relationship grew sexual after she turned 17. She recalled that on about 10 occasions, she and Rabieh engaged in sexual acts, mostly at Rabieh’s Sunnyvale apartment, but in some instances when they went to out-of-state fencing events.
She also said she once thought they were in a legitimate relationship, and after she turned 18, the two began having sex. Later, she told a detective that when she became familiar with the concept of grooming, she “felt Rabieh had groomed her and manipulated her while acting as her coach.”
In statements to police, the woman’s mother recalled a dinner following her daughter’s 17th birthday, in which Rabieh “expressed his love for (her) to her family and his desire to marry her. He made it very clear he valued her virginity and would protect it until they were married.” The mother recalled being “furious,” and helped her daughter go away for college in part to get away from him, according to the police report.
In March, police set up what is known as a pretext phone call involving the victim to coax Rabieh into acknowledging the sexual nature of their relationship before she was 18, but he was evasive.
Soon after that call, Rabieh consented to a police interview to discuss his relationship with the woman. According to the police report, he acknowledged kissing or being in relationships with two other female students who were in their 20s, though one of them he had taught since she was 17. He also reportedly told a detective that the then-teen was the one who was initiating a deeper relationship, and described a conversation with her parents in which he claimed they “were okay with their relationship.”
During the same interview, Rabieh reportedly admitted to kissing her, and said “yeah” when he was asked if she ever touched him sexually. But when asked if he had touched her sexually, he abruptly ended the interview.
In a later text-message exchange with the woman — documented in the police report — Rabieh said he was surprised by what she told police and told her “I’m contacting an attorney to bring criminal legal action against you, your parents, and brother and boyfriend. I’m put in a position that I must tell the truth about you and your family, from drug addiction to behavioral problems. I don’t want this, but I have to defend myself from the lies by telling the whole truth. I would have never thought that you would do such a thing. I’m truly sorry that you reach (sic) this level.”
Police are exploring the possibility that Rabieh might have had illicit relationships with other students. Anyone with information for investigators can contact Detective Tiffany Shillito at 408-7307138.