A former basketball coach at Ripon High School charged with multiple child sex crimes will be heading to trial.
31-year-old Mihai Schnell-Harrison returned to court last week as he faces five felony charges, including Sexual Assault of a Student by School Staff, Possession of Child Pornography, Exposing Genitals to a Child, Child Enticement-Sexual Contact, and Exposing a Child to Harmful Material.
At last week’s hearing, Schnell-Harrison denied a plea deal offered to him in the case after originally pleading not guilty to his charges in December of last year.
In denying the plea deal, the 31-year-old will now be heading to a five-day jury trial, according to court documents.
It is alleged that while he was the head coach of the Ripon boy’s basketball team, he exchanged nude photos with an underage Ripon student.
Schnell-Harrison and the minor then met up in the high school parking lot, where they allegedly had physical sexual contact.
Following an investigation, he was arrested by the Ripon Police Department in November 2024.
Schnell-Harrison will return to court on September 15th for a hearing before his jury trial, which is scheduled to begin on October 6th.
