A 64-year-old man who has coached softball in San Bernardino and Orange counties was charged with child abuse on Friday, Jan. 9.
Michael Patrick Fitzgerald was arrested at his home on Wednesday after a 14-year-old girl who played on one of his teams came forward, the Ontario Police Department said in a news release.
Fitzgerald was charged with three counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and one count of lewd acts on a child aged 14 or 15. The first three crimes were alleged to have occurred on Oct. 1; the latter crime happened on Dec. 5, Superior Court records allege.
Fitzgerald was being held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga in lieu of $1 million bail. Court records do not list an attorney who could speak on Fitzgerald’s behalf. No court appearances had been scheduled as of Friday.
Fitzgerald coaches a Southern California Explosion team, the release said.
“Detectives discovered that he has coached teams in Orange and San Bernardino counties in recent years,” the release said.
Police ask anyone with information on Fitzgerald to call the department at 909-986-6711 or leave information with WeTip at 800-782-7463 or the website wetip.com.