Hamlet Nalbandyan
A Hoover High School coach has been arrested on charges of statutory
rape and has been placed on administrative leave by the school.
Martik Ghookasian, a 22-year-old walk-on girls' basketball and
track and field coach, was arrested at his Glendale home Thursday
after a 14-year-old Simi Valley girl said she had sexual contact with
him on Hoover's campus during the early hours of April 3.
According to police reports, Ghookasian -- who was released on
$100,000 bail and has a pending court date May 3 -- met the girl
after she and a friend were visiting other friends in Glendale.
At about 2:30 a.m., Ghookasian and the girl went onto the Hoover
campus, where they jumped over a wall and swam in the pool.
Three separate sexual incidents occurred afterward, a report
stated, including in the shower area by the pool and in a car that
belonged to the father of the girl's friend. The car was parked on
Olmsted Drive.
A surveillance tape has been turned in to police for further
investigation, Hoover Co-principal Kevin Welsh said.
An official report wasn't filed until April 8. The girl pointed
Ghookasian out of a yearbook, but told police his name was Martin,
authorities said.
A sweatshirt that could hold DNA evidence also was turned in to
police.
Reached at his home for comment, Ghookasian said, "I've got
nothing to say other than that I'm innocent."
Ghookasian, who is the head coach of the junior varsity girls'
basketball team and an assistant with the school's cross-country and
track and field programs, declined further comment.
Ghookasian graduated from Hoover in 1998. He has been helping at
the school in various capacities ever since, Welsh said.
Walk-on coaches must meet prerequisites set by the Glendale
Unified School District, including undergoing a fingerprint check,
before being allowed to work at the school, Welsh said.
"Ever since he's been a coach at Hoover, I've never received any
complaints of inappropriate behavior from parents or students," Welsh
said of Ghookasian.
"He is very well-respected here and well-liked. I spoke with the
track and field and basketball programs [recently], and it was very
hard on the students. The mood was very somber, and they were shocked
[over the allegations]."
