A 23-year-old former Foothill High drumline coach has been arrested on suspicion of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl at the Bakersfield school, Kern County Sheriff’s officials said.
In a news release, deputies said they arrested Francisco Villanueva Martinez today on suspicion of two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and two counts of unlawful oral copulation with a minor.
The Kern High School District said Martinez was a walk-on drumline coach for the Foothill band, and began working with the program in 2015.
“The Kern County Sheriff’s Office was immediately notified when administrators at FHS learned of the allegations,” wrote KHSD spokeswoman Lisa Krch in an email. “Mr. Martinez is no longer employed by the Kern High School District.”
Sheriff’s officials said they were sent to Foothill High on Tuesday with the report of the relationship, and began an immediate investigation.
“Due to the nature of the investigation, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Sexual Assault and Abuse Investigations Unit (SAAIU) assumed the investigation,” the department said via a news release.
Martinez was booked into the Sheriff’s Office Central Receiving Facility. His bail has been set at $100,000.
