SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — A youth soccer coach from San Jose has been arrested for sending pictures of his genitals to a 16-year-old girl, police said Thursday.
San Jose Police said Hector Benjamin Joya Jimenez, a coach for for Liverpool Club International Academy Bay Area, was arrested on Wednesday by members of the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children/Child Exploitation Detail task force.
Joya was charged with sending harmful matter to a minor – a felony – and misdemeanor annoy or molest a child under 18 years old. San Jose police spokeswoman Ofc. Gina Tepoorten told CBS San Francisco the victim was not one of Joya’s players.
Police said last month Joya befriended the victim and started communicating with her via Snapchat, sending her unsolicited images of his genitals on several occasions.
On Wednesday detectives obtained an arrest warrant and took Joya into custody in San Jose. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail.
Joya was also a player with the Oakland Roots Sports Club, which plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, a third-tier professional league. In a statement, the club said, “Today, the Oakland Roots were disappointed to learn that midfielder Benji Joya was arrested in San Jose on Wednesday. Therefore, the Club has decided to release him.”
There was no immediate statement from Liverpool Club International Academy Bay Area on Joya’s arrest.
Anyone with information about the incident or similar incidents was urged to contact Detective Jose Montoya of the San Jose Police Department’s ICAC/CED Unit at 408-537-1381.