People v. Thomas CA3

Statement of Facts A. H.L. (counts 1-6) H.L. played softball her “whole life.” She had hoped to get a scholarship and play softball in college. In 2018, when H.L. was 15 years old, H.L.’s softball coach suggested H.L. meet with defendant, who worked on batting with the coach’s son at the time. H.L. had heard that defendant formerly coached Major League Baseball players. H.L.’s mother also was aware that defendant came highly recommended as a hitting coach. In July 2018, H.L. and her father met with defendant at a park during a softball tournament along with another teammate, M.R. Defendant told H.L. and her father that he would like to train with her. They discussed the possibility of H.L. coming to defendant’s facility or defendant coming to H.L.’s home. At some point, H.L. mentioned she would like to go to a university in San Diego, and defendant said he had some connections that could help her gain admittance. In general, defendant promoted his ability to get H.L. a scholarship and assist her with the recruiting process. After a family discussion, H.L.’s family agreed to hire defendant as a batting trainer and liaison for H.L. They paid defendant $5,000 and flew him to…