Former wrestling coach gets probation for lewdness with students
A former Las Vegas wrestling coach accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls was sentenced to probation on Tuesday.
John Washington, who is also known by his wrestling name of Owen Travers, was arrested in November 2020 while he was working as a coach for Future Stars of Wrestling. Two women had reported to police that Washington assaulted them years prior, according to his arrest report.
Although Washington had pleaded guilty, Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Stephens said Tuesday that it was “concerning that Mr. Washington doesn’t really accept any sort of responsibility in what occurred in this particular case.”
Washington pleaded guilty in May to two counts of attempted lewdness with a child under 16, court records show. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.
The former coach was first investigated by police after a parent reported that his teenage daughter told him she had been assaulted by Washington in 2017.
Another woman had told police that she was assaulted by Washington before a wrestling event in 2015.
When she told Washington she was going to report the assault, he allegedly responded, “I am an adult. You are a kid. Who do you think they’re going to believe?” according to his arrest report.
Both the parent who reported his daughter being assaulted in 2017 and the prosecutor asked District Judge Jennifer Schwartz to sentence Washington to jail time. Instead, the judge sentenced Washington to probation not to exceed five years, but ordered him to continue spending at least six months on house arrest.
She also ordered him to have no contact with minors, and said he will have to register as a sex offender under a lifetime of supervision.
Washington had asked the judge to remain on probation so he could continue caring for his sick mother. He said he works making wrestling gear and costumes from his home.
“I will prove to you and I will prove to everyone else that I am not this pariah that everyone thinks that I am,” Washington said during the sentencing hearing.
Defense attorney Ozzie Fumo said Washington had no criminal history, and that he voluntarily turned over his phone to police, which showed no evidence of Washington sending videos, texts or pictures to the teenage girls.
The parent said that his daughter had a “bright future” in wrestling, but that she gave up the sport after Washington’s arrest.
“It was a predatory situation,” he told the judge. “He saw a young person, took advantage.”
His daughter appeared in court on Tuesday through a video call. She told the judge that she was 14 when she was assaulted.
“You took away my chance to enjoy wrestling,” she said, addressing Washington. “You took away my chance to enjoy performing, you took so much from me.”
After the hearing, the parent said that he confronted Washington after his daughter told him she was assaulted. He said Washington had served as his daughter’s mentor while she was taking wrestling classes as a young teenager.
The father said he befriended the man until he could record a conversation where he said Washington confessed to the assault.
The parent said that he believes Washington should have received jail time for the assault.
“I’m happy that the community is protected, I think the terms of the probation are appropriate,” he said. “But I’m extremely disappointed in this judge that there’s no punishment for the crime.”
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.