Ex-McFarland High basketball coach pleads not guilty to contacting a minor for sex
Dec. 22—A former McFarland High School basketball coach pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three counts related to contacting a minor for sex.
The defendant, Fernando Pruneda, 39, was previously convicted in 2020 for a similar offense and sentenced to serve two years.
Pruneda was denied bail Wednesday by Judge Micheal G. Bush because of the "public safety concerns regarding the allegations being similar to his previous case," said Assistant Joseph Kinzel in an email. His pre-preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 4.
The former coach was apprehended for the second time during a decoy operation to catch child sexual predators, said Kern County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Danielle Kernkamp in an email. Pruneda arranged to have sex with KCSO detectives posing as a 14-year-old boy on social media, according to a probable cause statement filed in Kern County Superior Court.
The defendant was on post-release community supervision at the time of his second arrest, according to the court documents. He pleaded guilty Nov. 19 for violating this supervision.
Pruneda first arrest stemmed from a 2018 incident in which he promised a 15-year-old boy a position on McFarland High School varsity basketball team in exchange for sex, according to previous reporting by The Californian. He pleaded no contest to a single charge of contacting a minor for sex in 2020, registered as a sex offender and was sentenced to serve two years in Wasco State Prison.
Three other charges, including contacting a minor for sex, lewd acts with a child and annoying a child, were dismissed in 2020.
Law firm Chain, Cohn, Stiles filed a civil complaint in 2019 against the McFarland Unified School District, claiming the school "negligently breached their duty" to protect the victim, according to the complaint filed on behalf of the 15-year-old boy.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter.
