In Tulare, police need your help to strengthen their case against a youth sports coach accused of molesting teenage girls.
The suspect now in the Tulare County Jail is 38-year old Denell Johnson.
Investigators believe more victims may still be out there. So if Johnson has taken advantage of you or someone you know, now is the time to come forward and tell your story to make sure he gets the punishment he deserves.
The details of Denell Johnson’s personal life rose to the surface on January 29th. That’s when police responded to a disturbance call at his home off West Bane Street in Tulare.
“It was discovered that Denell Johnson had some inappropriate sexual relationships with some female minors,” said Sgt. Darron Altermatt of the Tulare Police Dept.
Investigators say the behavior dates back six years. The 38-year old was allegedly involved with girls between the ages of 13 and 17.
Police say he’s done some coaching with youth sports teams, but it’s not clear which leagues he was part of.
“I have no information that it’s associated with any local schools in Tulare or anywhere else. Nor any sports organizations within our jurisdiction here,” said Sgt. Altermatt.
Mother and grandmother, Mickey Kitchen, is outraged by this story. She encourages other potential victims to come forward.
“I would like to see this man behind bars so he doesn’t do it to another child, girl, boy, I don’t care whatever,” said Mickey Kitchen of Tulare.
Even more disturbing is that according to Megan’s Law, Johnson is a registered sex offender in California who has a prior offense with a 14 or 15 year old child. So it begs the question, how was he still allowed to coach youth girls? Police do not have an answer yet. However, kitchen has a theory.
“Fell through the cracks like most of the bad guys do, they get through there somehow. If it was me or you or a normal person we would be fingerprinted. So I don’t know how these guys can get right back out there and do the same things over and over again and get out of it,” said Kitchen.
If you have any information to help this case, call detective Rosa Moreno at (559) 685-2300 ext. 2157.