Key Biscayne gymnastics coach pleads not guilty to six counts of sex crimes against children
Longtime Key Biscayne coach Oscar Olea on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to six counts of child sex abuse and will remain in jail while he awaits trial.
Olea, 38, was the subject of a Miami Herald investigation that uncovered years of abuse by some of his students.
Olea had taught gymnastics in Key Biscayne for more than a decade. He coached at the Key Biscayne Recreational Center and its Village Green, American Gymsters, and two church schools. Before his arrest, he operated Flipout Workout out of a strip mall on the island. It has since shut down.
The six felony counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in familial or custodial authority center on Olea’s alleged abuse of two girls, citing four incidents of abuse against one and two against the other.
The charges came after two women came forward to the police after the Herald published its investigation. They said Olea had groomed and sexually abused them about 14 years ago, when they were 13 and 16 years old. They were both his gymnastics students. Olea was arrested on Feb. 28, a little over a month after the Herald’s investigation.
A prior investigation had been opened by Key Biscayne police after the families of a seven and four-year-old made official complaints to police about Olea touching and speaking to the kids in an inappropriate manner during gymnastics lessons. That investigation was closed in January and resulted in no charges.
Police re-opened the investigation into Olea when the two women came forward. A third woman who also spoke to the Herald said she told police about Olea sexually abusing her for three years from the time she was 15 or 16. He was eight years older. That woman’s case is still under investigation, Det. Carlo Ugalde said during a previous hearing.
Olea did not attend the hearing and his attorney, Beatriz Llorente, entered his pleas.
Olea will remain in jail while he awaits trial. Judge Alberto Milian previously decided he was a danger to society during a week-long pre-trial detention hearing filled with delays.
