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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
National
James Queally

Orange County volleyball coach sent lewd images to a minor, police say

April 14--A volunteer volleyball coach who recently worked at both Cal State Long Beach and Huntington Beach High School has been accused of sending lewd images to an underage girl, authorities said Wednesday.

Troy Crutchfield, 26, of Costa Mesa, was arrested on suspicion of sending harmful matter to a minor, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Crutchfield had been sending lewd videos of himself to a girl he met online, according to Lt. Mark Stichter, a Sheriff's Department spokesman. The victim was not a player whom Crutchfield had coached, Stichter said.

Members of the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force began investigating Crutchfield in March, and Stichter said officers are searching for additional victims.

Crutchfield was arrested at his home without incident on Wednesday morning, and remains in the Orange County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, Stichter said.

The 26-year-old had been coaching women's volleyball for several years, according to Stichter. Crutchfield recently held posts at CSU Long Beach, the SCA Volleyball Club in Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach High School, and Long Beach City College, according to the news release.

Mike Uhlenkamp, a spokesman for CSU Long Beach, said Crutchfield began serving as a volunteer analyst for the men's volleyball team in the fall of 2015. He did not work with women at the school, and has been suspended until the criminal investigation is resolved, Uhlenkamp said.

Crutchfield also worked as a walk-on assistant coach for the girls' volleyball team at Huntington Beach High School, according to Alyssa Griffiths, a school district spokeswoman. Crutchfield "was immediately placed on leave" when school officials learned of his arrest, according to Griffiths.

Before that, he was the assistant men's volleyball coach at Long Beach City College from September 2012 to May 2013, according to a campus spokesman.

Calls to the SCA Volleyball Club seeking comment were not returned.

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in Southern California.

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