SANTEE, Calif. – A gymnastics coach from Santee is under investigation after it was discovered he was allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with one of his students.
Patrick Wehrung, 25, is out on bail but he’s expected in court next week.
“We had no prior knowledge of this unacceptable relationship,” said Jeremy Ross, owner of Champion Gymnastics and Cheer.
Wehrung was taken into police custody on Tuesday and faces sexual assault charges after a 15-year-old girl recently reported to officers she had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with him.
“The parents of the victim discovered the relationship and called police,” said Lt. Sandra Albrektsen of the San Diego Police Department.
Police say Wehrung and the teenager were involved in a sexual relationship. According to investigators, the gymnastics coach would pick the victim from her home and then take her to La Jolla Shores on several occasions.
“We are still looking into the exact date and time that relationship started, but we do know it’s been for the last several months, but they have known each other for more than that,” said Albrektsen.
Wehrung was immediately terminated from his job as a gymnastics coach at Champion Gymnastics and Cheer in Santee. He was charged with oral copulation, unlawful sexual intercourse and penetration with a foreign object.
“We do not condone anything that represents. It’s the opposite of what we are trying to do here as a business as well as a family,” said Ross.
Champion Gymnastics and Cheer is a family-owned business that opened in 2008. On its website its mission states “instructors play a constructive role in the development of healthy, confident and responsible individuals while ensuring safety in a fun family-oriented atmosphere.”
“If your child walks through our front door, we adopt them, we adopt them as one of our own. We do our best to make sure they feel welcome, that you feel welcome. This person is no longer welcomed here because they have affected that tremendously,” said Ross.
Owners say they fired the gymnastics coach within minutes of finding out about that sexual relationship.
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