LOS ANGELES. The 1984 Olympic boxing champion was sentenced Tuesday to three years and eight months in prison for refusing to compete in lewd action with two teenage girls.
Paul Gonzalez, 57, was ordered to register as a sex offender for life immediately after he dropped one count of indecent act against a child under 14 and indecent act against a 14-15 year old, according to Deputy District Attorney Paul. Thompson.
In January 2018, Gonzalez was charged with indecent acts with a 13-year-old girl.
Authorities said he met the girl while working in the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department as head coach of the Eddie Heredia Boxing Club on East Olympic Boulevard in East Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation after being contacted by a member of the girl’s family, Sheriff Lieutenant Todd Deeds said shortly after the case was filed against Gonzalez.
According to the prosecutor, a second case was opened earlier this year against a 14-year-old girl whom Gonzalez did not meet because of his work as a coach.
When Gonzalez was indicted in January 2018, one of his lawyers, Joseph Gutierrez, unsuccessfully argued that the cameras should be expelled from a downtown Los Angeles courtroom during a hearing, telling the judge that the case was covered in the media because of Gonzalez’s past. that could jeopardize his safety behind bars.
He noted that Gonzales won the gold medal for the United States at the lightweight flyweight title.
