NJ coach accused of sexually assaulting teen gymnasts on trampoline, painting nudes of young students

A youth gymnastics coach in New Jersey was indicted Monday for allegedly having sex with three teen athletes decades ago — including in his car, at his house, in a locker room and on a trampoline.

Authorities charged Sasha C. Raught, 56, of Manchester, with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and three counts of second-degree sexual assault for the alleged crimes, which prosecutors said happened when he worked at two private gymnastics schools in South Jersey during the 1990s and 2000s, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Raught also painted nudes of one athlete — and recorded videos of their sexual encounters, Monmouth County prosecutors said.

Local and county police arrested the coach at his Ocean County home in May 2023.

But an attorney from the Monmouth County Public Defender’s Office tried to poke holes in the state’s case at a June 2023 detention hearing by saying that one of the three athletes doesn’t want to pursue criminal charges against him, the Press said.

Authorities also investigated the second athlete’s charges back in 2008, but decided not to pursue a criminal case, according to attorney Sophia Miller.

Miller claimed another victim was 17-years-old during her 1993 encounter with Raught — not 16, as prosecutors charged — and that the relationship had been consensual.

That would change the nature of the case, since state law at the time defined a child as under the age of 16 — meaning authorities couldn’t even hit Raught with a child endangerment charge, the Press said.

Raught’s current attorney, Daniel J. Holzapfel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, authorities are asking anyone with information about Raught’s alleged misconduct to contact Detective Joseph Pahopin at 800-533-7443.