Quick Take
Watsonville police say Humberto Reyes-Palacios, 24, faces charges of child sex abuse while he was a volunteer coach in 2022 at a middle school. Officers arrested him Tuesday and he's being held in Santa Cruz County Jail.
On Tuesday morning, Watsonville police officers arrested a volunteer track and field coach on accusations of sexual abuse of a boy under the age of 13 in 2022.
Police arrested Humberto Reyes-Palacios, 24, and say he faces charges of human sex trafficking of a minor, contacting a minor with intent to commit certain felonies, and lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, the Watsonville Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.
Reyes-Palacios is currently volunteering as an assistant coach of track and field at Pajaro Valley High School, but police say at the time of the alleged incident in 2022, he was a volunteer track and field coach for Rolling Hills Middle School in Watsonville.
The police department received a report earlier this month about the accusations against Reyes-Palacios and launched its investigation. After detectives served a search warrant at his home on the 200 block of Misty Glade Lane in Watsonville, they arrested Reyes-Palacios Tuesday morning in Capitola.
Police spokesperson Michelle Pulido told Lookout that police tracked him to Capitola, but she doesn’t know why he was in Capitola or if he works there.
She said to protect the identity of the victim, she wouldn’t confirm if the victim was a Rolling Hills Middle School student or not.
Pulido added that police suspect there might be additional victims but, as far as she knew, officers haven’t received any additional accusations yet.
The police department is asking for anyone with information about this case to reach Detective Marcos Rios at 831-889-8413.
Lookout reached out to Pajaro Valley Unified School District for comment, but was unable to make contact by publication time.
As of Thursday afternoon, Reyes-Palacios was still being held in Santa Cruz County Jail and has an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 1 at 8:15 a.m., according to online county records.
Support and resources for child abuse
- Santa Cruz County Human Services Department
To report child abuse or neglect, please call 877-505-3299 or 831-454-2273; available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Monarch Services 24-hour crisis hotline: 888-900-4232
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