Santa Rosa Piner High coach's hearing postponed

A Friday court hearing for a Piner High School junior varsity girls soccer coach accused of sexual misconduct was rescheduled to Oct. 30 after he bailed out of Sonoma County Jail.

Richard Alexander Vives, 42, was booked into jail on three felony charges: two counts of oral copulation with a minor and one count of sexual penetration with a minor. None of the charges allege force.

He was due to appear in court Friday morning, but posted $30,000 bail sometime late Thursday or early Friday, allowing for an extention to his first court appearance.

Santa Rosa police, citing privacy concerns, have refused to say whether the alleged victim or victims were soccer players or students at the school or someone Vives knew from outside school activities.

Piner High School Principal Mary Beth Halsey said she understood from police that the sexual acts did not take place on school grounds or in connection with a school-related event. She also said it occurred on a weekend.

The case has rocked the local soccer community, where Vives worked as coach of Piner’s junior varsity girls team and where he served as a longtime volunteer for local soccer clubs, including Santa Rosa United.

Vives served many years in the Northwest Oaks Soccer Club and the Santa Rosa United Soccer Club, where he was listed as referee coordinator until Wednesday afternoon.

"We're not going to release any information about the crime and where and how it occurred," including whether it had anything to do with his work as a soccer coach or referee, police Sgt. Lisa Banayat, the department's spokeswoman, said Thursday.

She said police are keeping many details private to protect the identity of the alleged victim in the case.

Piner High School Principal Mary Beth Halsey said she understood from police that the encounter at the center of the case did not take place on school grounds or in connection with a school-related event. She also said it occurred on a weekend.

"The parents are understandably concerned, but at the same time realize that the school did what they needed to do in terms of background checks and fingerprinting and so on," Halsey said. "And they also realized that this was not an incident that took place on the Piner campus."

A woman or girl who answered the phone at his northwest Santa Rosa home Thursday said the family did not want to comment. She also declined to identify any attorney who might be representing Vives.

School officials said Vives was hired a month ago for the $2,551-a-season junior varsity coaching position at Piner, though the season already was in progress.

A routine screening, reference check and fingerprinting also were conducted, none of which raised any red flags, "so, you know, he was cleared to coach," Halsey said.

Vives had no criminal record in Sonoma County.

Piner girls varsity coach Mark Pennewell, who coached the junior varsity team in Vives' absence Wednesday, declined to comment Thursday, saying, "I just know what's in the paper."

Vives was not a teacher at the school and not well-known to students beyond the soccer team. Some students took advantage of a counselor made available on campus Thursday to those troubled by his arrest and the circumstances surrounding the case, school officials said.

"I spoke to the team after yesterday's game and indicated that counseling would be available to them should they feel the need, and we'll talk with them again today to see how they're doing," Halsey said Thursday.

"We're all shocked as anyone would be, but we are moving forward," Halsey said.

Vives has served many years in the Northwest Oaks Soccer Club and the Santa Rosa United Soccer Club, where he was listed as referee coordinator until Wednesday afternoon.

United officials, including the president of the board, did not return repeated phone calls Wednesday and Thursday.