Former Pitman wrestling coach pleads guilty to child sex crimes spanning over 20 years
A former assistant wrestling coach for Turlock’s Pitman High School pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts of lewd acts with a minor by force or fear and one count of rape, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Ceres resident Derek Young, 42, was arrested by Ripon police in February, initially on suspicion of sex acts on a child under 10 years old and sex acts on a child under 14 years old. The DA’s Office said Young’s sexual abuse involved multiple victims — including children and an adult — and spanned over two decades.
He faces up to 40 years in prison and will need to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
“This result is a testament to their dedication to the law,” reads a statement by District Attorney Ron Freitas. “It brings justice to the victims and ensures that Derek Young will no longer be a threat to our community or anyone (else).”
Abuse by Young first was reported in 2013 but resurfaced in 2023. The case was picked up by Detective Kaeli Nutt, whose investigation brought to light multiple victims over several years in both San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, according to the DA’s Office release. The Modesto Bee does not name victims of sexual abuse.
The release did not state why the initial report of abuse by Young did not result in his arrest. Nutt was not immediately available for comment.
Young was brought on as a volunteer walk-on coach for Pitman during the 2021-22 season and was a paid walk-on coach since the 2022-23 season. He also was a walk-on wrestling coach at Mae Hensley Junior High School in Ceres from October 2016 to February 2017 and an assistant wrestling coach at Ceres High School during the 2017-18 to 2019-20 wrestling seasons.
A Turlock Unified School District statement released in February said the district had no indications that any of its students were harmed. The statement said all of the district’s coaches are required to pass FBI and U.S. Department of Justice background checks and are fingerprinted before they can work with students.
Young also was an employee at Kaiser Permanente and listed his job as being a patient care tech, according to a document obtained by The Bee. He was arrested in a parking lot at the Kaiser Permanente Modesto Medical Center.
Young’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 8:30 a.m. in Department 8C of the San Joaquin Superior Courthouse.
