The soccer coach who was reportedly being questioned in connection to a 13-year-old boy who was found dead in a Ventura County ditch was arrested on an unrelated sexual assault charge, his family said.
The family of Oscar Hernandez, 13, has been holding candlelight vigils outside their Sun Valley home to honor the boy’s life.
His family reported him missing on March 30 after he failed to return home. They claim he was with his soccer coach in the Antelope Valley when he disappeared.
Three days later on April 2, Oscar’s body was discovered in a wooded area off a Ventura County road almost 70 miles away from his home.
The coach, who is now allegedly a person of interest in the case, was arrested on Wednesday for an unrelated sexual assault charge from 2024, his family said.
Oscar’s mother, Gladys Maribel Bautista, said the last time she spoke to her son was through a video call on the day Oscar went missing.
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Oscar Omar Hernandez, 13, a resident of the San Fernando Valley, was found dead in a ditch in wooded area off a Ventura County road on April 2, 2025. (Alejandra Hernandez) -
A body matching the description of a teenage boy, 13, reported missing discovered in Oxnard on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
A body matching the description of a teenage boy, 13, reported missing discovered in Oxnard on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
Family gather for a vigil at the site where a boy, 13, reported missing was found dead on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
Family gather for a vigil at the site where a boy, 13, reported missing was found dead on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
Family gather for a vigil at the site where a boy, 13, reported missing was found dead on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
The boy’s mother, Gladys Maribel Bautista, (right) is comforted by a loved one during a candlelight vigil held to honor Oscar Hernandez in Sun Valley on April 4, 2025. (KTLA) -
Oscar Omar Hernandez, 13, a resident of the San Fernando Valley seen in this undated photo. (Alejandra Hernandez) -
Family gather for a vigil at the site where a boy, 13, reported missing was found dead on April 2, 2025. (KTLA) -
Oscar Hernandez’s friends and loved ones are seen at a candlelight vigil held outside his Sun Valley home on April 4, 2025. (KTLA) -
The boy’s mother, Gladys Maribel Bautista, speaks to KTLA during a candlelight vigil held to honor Oscar Hernandez outside her Sun Valley home on April 4, 2025. (KTLA) -
A body matching the description of a teenage boy, 13, reported missing discovered in Oxnard on April 2, 2025. (KTLA)
Bautista said Oscar had taken a metro ride to his coach’s Antelope Valley home to help with a side job. They planned to paint the soccer team’s jerseys and the coach reportedly offered to “pay him well,” his mother said.
When they called Oscar on his cell phone later that night, the coach answered the call instead, Bautista said.
It was a short conversation, and she said it felt as if the coach didn’t want to speak with them. He also claimed Oscar couldn’t take the phone call because he had paint on his hands.
Days later, Oscar’s body was located by police following a search. His family remains devastated and is desperate for answers.
Oscar was a 7th grade student at Sun Valley Magnet School and was an excellent soccer player, his friends said. His family moved to the U.S. from Honduras just three years ago.
He first met the soccer coach at the Valley Plaza Sports Complex in North Hollywood, according to this family.
The coroner’s office has not released the boy’s cause of death. His family said the Los Angeles Police Department has assumed the investigation but has not been sharing much information with them.
Loved ones have been holding candlelight vigils outside the boy’s Sun Valley home this week as friends and loved ones continue bringing flowers and candles.
The boy’s family wants justice for his death, his grieving mother saying in Spanish that, “Perhaps my son gave his life for others to be exposed.”
The arrested coach is slated for a court hearing on April 7 in downtown Los Angeles. His identity was not released as police have not publicly confirmed that he is the same person being questioned for the boy’s death.
KTLA reached out to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for more information on the case but was only told that the case remains an ongoing investigation.
The Hernandez family plans to hold Oscar’s funeral in Honduras.
While police suggested in a news conference Wednesday night that there was a person of interest in the case, they did not identify a specific person, nor has any additional information been released by investigators.