Watsonville, CA- According to Watsonville police, a 24-year-old man named Humberto Reyes-Palacios is facing charges of child sex abuse. It is alleged that he committed these crimes while serving as a volunteer coach at a middle school in 2022. He was apprehended on Tuesday and is currently being detained in Santa Cruz County Jail.
Earlier this week, authorities in Watsonville apprehended a volunteer track and field coach who stands accused of engaging in sexual abuse with a minor under the age of 13 last year.
Humberto Reyes-Palacios, 24, has been arrested by the police on charges related to human sex trafficking of a minor, contacting a minor with intent to commit certain felonies, and lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, as stated by the Watsonville Police Department in a Facebook post.
Reyes-Palacios is currently serving as an assistant coach of track and field at Pajaro Valley High School. However, according to the police, during the alleged incident in 2022, he was a volunteer track and field coach for Rolling Hills Middle School in Watsonville.
In the past month, the police department was informed of the allegations against Reyes-Palacios and initiated an investigation. Reyes-Palacios was apprehended on Tuesday morning in Capitola after detectives executed a search warrant at his residence on Misty Glade Lane in Watsonville.
According to police spokesperson Michelle Pulido, authorities were able to locate him in Capitola. However, it remains unclear why he was in Capitola or if he has any affiliation with the area.
In order to safeguard the victim’s identity, she declined to disclose whether the individual in question was a student at Rolling Hills Middle School.
According to Pulido, the police have expressed concerns about the possibility of more victims, although no further accusations have been reported at this time.
If you have any information about this case, the police department is urging you to contact Detective Marcos Rios at 831-889-8413.
Lookout attempted to contact the Pajaro Valley Unified School District for comment, but unfortunately, they were unable to establish contact by the time of publication.
According to online county records, Reyes-Palacios is currently in custody at Santa Cruz County Jail and is scheduled for an arraignment on August 1st at 8:15 a.m.