Calling him dangerous, judge orders gymnastics coach jailed until abuse trial
Oscar Olea, the popular Key Biscayne gymnastics coach charged with six counts of sexual abuse of two of his now-former students, must remain in jail until his trial, a judge ordered Thursday.
Judge Alberto Milian said two days of testimony convinced him of the likelihood that Olea was a sex criminal who preys on children.
Milian said Olea appeared to have taken advantage of the accusers’ “lack of self worth” and “loneliness,” adding: “Presumption is great he is guilty of these crimes.”
He continued: “The only place right now to protect the community is if he is incarcerated.”
That ruling came at the end of a day highlighted by the playing of a recorded police interview with an accuser who said she was 13 when Olea first abused her.
A former student, now in her mid-20s, described the trusting relationship that Olea built with her and led to the abuse by the man who was 12 years her senior. She said she didn’t confide in friends or anyone else because she was ashamed.
“I was ashamed in the inside,” she said. “I was still a virgin before him. And it’s not something, you know, especially at that age that you go around saying.”
The accuser whose words were heard in court Thursday had spoken to the Miami Herald for its investigation of Olea, telling reporters he had assaulted her digitally many times during private lessons. But she had not revealed, until her interview with police, that he had coerced her into sexual intercourse.
“So, being completely truthful and open, we did have sex,” she said. “I have never disclosed it as my mom, now, she would have a heart attack.”
In the recorded testimony, she said she was willing for it to become public in a criminal-justice setting because she “didn’t want it to happen to anyone else,” and that her intention in making certain details public in the earlier Herald article was the same.
The woman also described manipulating her parents to believe Olea, who continued to coach children as recently as a month ago, was like an older brother to her 13-yearold self. Her mother even invited the coach over to the house to get to know him. In her mother’s house, she said, nothing ever happened, because they wanted to keep up the appearance of a sibling-like relationship.
The handcuffed Olea, 38, appeared to be taking notes while the victim’s audio testimony was played. The defendant wore a red jail uniform — reserved for inmates who are highprofile and are separated from other inmates in a safety cell, according to a corrections officer at Thursday’s hearing.
The two accusers in the arrest warrants came forward to police days after the Herald published its investigation. One woman cited in the article had a formal interview with police the next week and the other, who had to fly in from another state, gave a formal interview two days before the coach’s arrest last week.
Beatriz Llorente, Olea’s lawyer, repeatedly quizzed a police officer on the witness stand, seemingly trying to poke holes in the reporting until the judge intervened and said: “May I remind you that the media is not on trial here.”
Earlier in the hearing, Llorente brought up a police report that was referenced in the Herald article and described a third individual, an 18-year-old woman who was stumbling drunk in
2011 on Crandon Boulevard in Key Biscayne when her walking companion called police for help. The companion was Olea. That woman told the Herald that Olea had been having sex with her since she was 16, and that she felt taken advantage of by the coach, who was eight years older.
Although that woman made a formal complaint to police recently, she has not been included as a victim in the charges. Detective Carlos Ugalde testified that the investigation is ongoing. Circuit Judge Alberto Milian cut short Llorente’s questioning about that accuser.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Milian said of the defense attorney’s line of questioning. “If I’m not considering any other accusations, then I don’t think we should get into it.”