California Teacher Accused of Tying Up Girls Fired

TORRANCE, Calif. – The 51-year-old football coach from West High School accused of tying up several girls at his home was fired from his position on Dec. 14.

Michael Anthony Smith will no longer coach the freshman football or other freshman teams he trained. A spokeswoman for the Torrance School District, Tammy Khan, said Smith was fired by school board trustees.

Smith had also been accused of asking the boys on his team to kiss him before they played their matches as he passed out jerseys. School officials are examining if other coaches witnessed the incident.

The coach was arrested Dec. 7 after the boyfriend of one of the alleged victims contacted school officials and said Smith had tied up his girlfriend. Other girls also came forward claiming Smith covered their mouths with tape, wrapped their hands and feet and handcuffed them, each on separate occasions.

Police are still investigating the motive; however, officials said no sex acts occurred.

Khan added Smith had taken a required CIF coaching training course, which included sexual harassment training.

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