By John Parker
jparker@sacbee.com
Former Christian Brothers High School history teacher and volleyball coach Minh Nguyen today pleaded not guilty to a charge of misdemeanor child annoyance.
Nguyen's next court date, a pretrial hearing, is scheduled March 23. Susan Regeimbal, a Costa Mesa-based attorney, is representing Nguyen.
The charge, filed on Feb. 1, stems from an alleged incident at the Embassy Suites in Santa Ana, where the Christian Brothers varsity girls volleyball team spent the night of Dec. 4 before competing in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship the next day at UC Irvine. The Falcons were swept in that match by La Jolla Country Day.
Nguyen, 36, is accused of having inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old varsity player after going to her room to give her an athletic massage.
"Our position is that (Nguyen) is completely innocent of any wrongdoing in this case," Regeimbal said. "If we have to do so at trial we will show that he is innocent. (Nguyen) has a sterling reputation in the community."
Orange County District Attorney spokeswoman Susan Schroeder said its office is confident in the evidence it has and is prepared for a trial, should the proceedings advance to that stage.
Nguyen, who coached freshman volleyball and was a varsity assistant at the time of the incident, faces a maximum sentence of one year in Orange County jail if convicted.
During his five years at Christian Brothers, Nguyen coached track and volleyball and taught world history. Christian Brothers terminated his employment Dec. 8.









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