Youth soccer coach linked to teen player's death arrested on separate sexual assault charge, family says

The last person a 13-year-old was with before he died has been arrested on a separate sexual assault charge, according to the teen’s family

Oscar Omar Hernandez was found dead in a ditch earlier this week in Ventura County near Los Angeles, and his family says he was last seen with his youth soccer coach.

On Wednesday, the same day Hernandez’s body was found, Los Angeles police arrested the coach on an unrelated sexual assault charge from a case in February 2024.

Hernandez’s body was found roughly 70 miles away from his home. According to KTLA in Los Angeles, the family called Hernandez over the weekend, but his phone was answered by the coach, who said Hernandez’s hands were covered with paint, and he couldn’t answer the phone.

The family had video chatted with Hernandez earlier in the day.

The teen had gone to the coach’s house to help paint their team’s soccer jerseys, his mother, Gladys Maribel Bautista, told Fox 11. The family reported him missing Sunday after he never returned home, and his body was found three days later.

The coach is now considered a person of interest in the case and has reportedly been questioned.

The coach is not considered a suspect, nor has his identity been released because police have not publicly confirmed he’s the same person being questioned regarding the teen’s death.

Hernandez’s sister, Alejandra, told Fox 11 the coach “even helped us look for Oscar.”

“We never thought he would harm him,” she said.