Sentencing was postponed for the third time Thursday in the case of a former Compton basketball coach convicted of child molestation.
Russell Otis was convicted last November of one count of misdemeanor child molestation for soliciting sex via hundreds of text messages from a 16-year-old boy who played on the Dominguez High School basketball team Otis coached.
The jury deadlocked 10-to-2 in favor of guilt on a felony count of child molestation and the jury acquitted Otis on all counts related to allegations that he deposited a $15,000 check from Nike made out to Compton Unified School District into his personal bank account.
Because of the misdemeanor sex crime conviction, the nationally renowned coach - who led Dominguez to 10 Southern Section championships and six state titles from 1987 to 2008 - must register as a sex offender for life, effectively ending his career.
Otis also faces the possibility of one year in county jail,
court fees and fines, and he may have to submit a DNA sample when he
returns for sentencing at the Compton Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 28.
Last year's case was not the first time Otis was charged with child molestation. A former player brought similar accusations in the late 1990s, but Otis was acquitted on all counts in that case and jurors who heard the former victim testify in the current case on background said they also found him unreliable.
Otis' attorney, Leonard Levine, has said he was pleased when prosecutors announced earlier this year that they will not re-try Otis on the felony child molestation charge that resulted in the deadlock.
Levine has also vowed they will appeal Otis' conviction once his sentence is handed down.
Otis, whose job at the Compton School District was terminated last year, remains free on bail.
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