Former Gymnastics Coach Imprisoned For Sexual Abuse

A former top coach at the prestigious Oregon Gymnastics Academy was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for sexually abusing a young student.

Joel Gene Velasquez, 24, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a boy he coached at the Cedar Mill academy.

A third count involving another victim was dropped during plea negotiations.

During his court appearance, the short, muscular Velasquez dropped his head and sobbed that he was “sorry this whole thing happened.” But he did not apologize specifically to his victim, who was not in court, or to the boy’s parents, who were present.

Velasquez asked Washington County Circuit Judge Gayle Nachtigal to take into consideration that he has family members who are minors, “and I do love them.’ Under terms of the plea negotiation, Velasquez never can work in youth sports again and cannot have any contact with minors or go where minors congregate without the written permission of his supervising officer, whether in prison or while on 10 years’ probation.

Nachtigal called Velasquez “every parent’s nightmare.”

“We have to entrust our children beyond our reach, and we entrust them to a very select group of people. Coaches have to be one of them,” she said. “And you have violated that trust in a way that can never be repaired.”

Nachtigal made it clear that Velasquez, the 1994 state gymnastics coach of the year, must keep away from youth sports the rest of his life.

“Gymnastics, soccer, hockey, you name it,” Nachtigal said, “not to even be a scorekeeper.”

The inappropriate touching that was the basis for the charge occurred between May 1993, when the boy was 9, and last October, when academy officials learned of the sex-abuse investigation and forced Velasquez to resign.