A Long Beach man is due in Orange County Superior Court this morning for arraignment on charges of engaging in sexual, inappropriate electronic communication with a female juvenile, and due to the 28-year-old's roles–teacher and girls sports coach–authorities fear there may be other victims.
A couple weeks ago, the Orange County Sheriff's Department was made aware of inappropriate e-mails and Skype conversations between the man and the girl that began in early 2014, according to the agency.
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“Investigators began collecting evidence and obtained information that indicated that Falkowski and the victim were still involved in a sexual relationship, even though the victim now lives out-of-state,” reads a statement from the department.
Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock, the department's spokesman, told City News Service the relationship began when the girl lived in South County and continued after she left California.
Members of the sheriff's Special Victim's Unit, assisted by the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children (LAICAC) Task Force, arrested Falkowski after classes at Magnolia Science Academy #3 in Carson Thursday afternoon and served a search warrant of his residence. He was later booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of sending harmful matter to a minor and held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to deputies.
The department adds that additional charges could come. Falkowski taught and coaches a female youth hockey team based in the Long Beach area–and which draws players from throughout Southern California. “Investigators believe that based on his perpetual contact with female juveniles in his capacity as a hockey coach, there may be additional victims,” deputies say.
Anyone with information about other victims is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Unit at 714.647.7060 or 714.647.7000. Anonymous tips may be given Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855.847.6227 (855-TIP-OCCS), via occrimestoppers.org or by texting to 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S) from a cell phone. (All text messages should begin with the letters “OCCS”.)
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.