Not guilty plea from coach accused of sex with underage girls

By JILLIAN JONES
Napa Valley Register

Herschel Sandler, the former coach accused of molesting two teenage girls in the 1990s, pleaded not guilty Thursday to four counts of sexual assault on a minor.

People turned out in droves to support the popular St. Helena High School volleyball and wrestling coach who resigned in 2007, just after the first accusations surfaced.

Noting the outpouring of community support but acknowledging the severity of the charges, Napa County Superior Court Judge Rodney Stone reduced bail from $250,000 to $100,000.

Sandler, 45, of Napa, is accused of having a sexual relationship with one girl under 16 in the 1990s and a second girl under 18 during the same time period.

He is charged with two counts of oral copulation with a minor under 16, one count of oral copulation with a minor under 18, and one count of lewd acts against a child under 16.

Court documents state that on at least one occasion Sandler had sexual intercourse with a minor on the St. Helena High campus.

Sandler coached volleyball at St. Helena High from 1996 to 1999, and wrestling until 2007. He also coached wrestling at Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School and men’s and women’s volleyball at Pacific Union College.

Napa County Deputy District Attorney Paul Gero informed the court Thursday that Sandler is also accused of making inappropriate advances toward two additional girls. One was a college-aged volleyball player, according to Napa County Deputy Public Defender Kris Keeley, and the other was a minor. She indicated that both incidents are alleged to have taken place more than a decade ago.

“It is a serious misuse of trust when someone molests a child in the community,” Gero told the court, claiming that Sandler is a flight risk because of his ties to Russia, where he met his wife, Oksana.

Keeley argued that Sandler is neither a flight risk nor a danger to community, noting his “significant ties to the community.” He has no previous criminal record, she said.

Keeley said she has received a dozen letters in support of Sandler, and indicated that many of the audience members would be willing to speak on his behalf.

Gero said that while people charged with crimes can be “good fathers, employees and church-goers,” they can still “do something sinful.”

“That does not mean they are not a danger to the community,” he added.

According to Keeley, Sandler is no longer coaching children and does not come into contact with minors at his current place of employment.

She also said the alleged victims would have “no problem” with him being released from custody.

Gero expressed concern over the Bible study sessions Sandler runs out of his home.

Stone ordered Sandler to turn over his passport and, in the case that he is released on bail, he is to have no contact with his accusers or any child under 18. The judge made an exception for his 17-month-old son.

The next hearing in the case is set for May 1.

Oscar Muñoz, who was coached by Sandler and later served as a fellow coach at PUC, said he was “surprised” to hear about the charges and “shocked to see it brought up now.”

Muñoz, who attended the arraignment Thursday, described Sandler as a “spiritual” man, and said he never witnessed any inappropriate conduct between Sandler and his athletes.

“I never saw any flirting,” he said. “He talked about his girlfriend, later his fiancee and now his wife, who was in Russia.”

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