Michael Avila Arrested on Child Sexual Assault Charges

Michael Avila, Los Angeles High School Soccer Coach, Accused of Sexually Assaulting Minor in Westminster

WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA (July 29, 2026) – A 20-year-old soccer coach from Norwalk identified as Michael Avila is being charged with sexually assaulting a minor in Westminster.

Los Angeles County officials are saying that they received a report of sexual assault in mid-July. Michael Avila was determined to be a suspect.

He was located and arrested on July 28 before being booked into Orange County Jail. Prosecutors are charging him with several crimes, including lewd and lascivious acts on a child and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

Authorities are asking anyone that may have more information to reach out to them. A full investigation into the incident remains ongoing at this time.

Liability for Westminster Child Sexual Assault

Schools have a legal obligation to protect students from foreseeable sources of harm. This includes protecting them from sexual assault at the hands of employees and any coaches that they may work with. Consider, for example, Taylor v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 17 Cal. 2d 594 [110 P.2d 1044], “It is the duty of the school authorities to supervise at all times the conduct of the children on the school grounds and to enforce those rules and regulations necessary to their protection.” Schools should take several measures to protect students from sexual abuse.

• Background Checks: Every person who works for or volunteers with a high school must undergo a rigorous background check.
• Monitoring: Schools must ensure that all of their students are properly supervised throughout the day. This monitoring extends to off-school sporting events.
• Reporting: Each school should establish various reporting channels so that misconduct can be uncovered.
• Guidelines: School districts should establish guidelines related to understanding and preventing sexual abuse.

When a school fails to take reasonable precautions to protect students from sexual abuse, this could be construed as evidence of negligence. The school district could be liable for any harm done to the child. A school could still be liable for any instance of sexual abuse, even if the abuse took place at some location away from campus. Courts will take into consideration whether or not any specific instance of abuse was reasonably foreseeable.

Steps to Take After Orange County Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involving school coaches is unfortunately much more common than many people realize. According to one study featured in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, “0.5% of adolescents experienced sexual abuse involving a coach. When considering all adolescents who experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime (10.2%), it appears that 5.3% of them were victims of sexual abuse by a coach.” It is important that certain steps are taken after any instance of sexual abuse involving the school coach.

• All communications between the perpetrator and the victim should be collected.
• The history of misconduct allegations involving the perpetrator should be understood.
• Any police report created by law enforcement should also be reviewed.
• Victims of sexual abuse should consider their legal options with a team experienced in personal injury claims.

Sexual abuse is often one of the most harmful experiences most people will go through. The effects of the abuse can stay with a person for the rest of their life and manifest in many negative health outcomes.Unfortunately, school districts are not likely to accept responsibility if one of their teachers or coaches sexually abuses a student in their care. This is why it’s so important that these incidents are properly investigated by an experienced attorney.

Investigating Orange County Sexual Abuse

We at Samer Habbas & Associates PC were very concerned to hear about the allegations brought against Michael Avila. There needs to be a thorough investigation to determine the full scope of misconduct. These alleged crimes raise very serious safety concerns that need to be addressed. What measures were in place to prevent this type of conduct? Were you sufficiently aware of any of the wrongdoing?

Have you or a loved one been the victim of sexual abuse in Orange County? Our team of experienced sexual abuse attorneys is here to support you. We are committed to helping people understand their rights and holding school districts accountable for their conduct. In fact, we have consistently achieved some of the highest verdict settlements for victims of sexual abuse across California.Whether you just have legal questions or need any other type of assistance, we are here to help you. You can contact us anytime at 949-727-9300.