Volleyball coaches charged in alleged sexual contact

Two former volleyball coaches at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines are facing criminal charges after prosecutors allege one had a sexual relationship with a female player and the second failed to report it to authorities.

Former assistant coach Chad Siu, 22, was charged Nov. 18 with second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. Siu resigned from the school district in March, said Highline School District spokeswoman Catherine Carbone Rogers.

Head coach Bryan Harley was fired in October after the King County Sheriff's Office and the district investigated the teenage girl's allegations, Rogers said. Harley, 35, was also charged last week with violation of mandatory reporting law.

Both charges are gross misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

The girl told investigators that during the 2007 volleyball season she and Siu texted, talked on the phone and flirted. She had sexual contact with him in November 2007 and January 2008, according to charging paperwork.

In March, the then-16-year-old girl told Harley about what had happened, charging papers said.

Harley later presented the girl with a written apology letter from Siu, but took the letter back after she read it because of "legal reasons," charging papers said.

Siu told investigators that he left the school district because he didn't want the girl to feel bad, charging papers said. He had been an assistant coach at Mount Rainier High School since December 2006, Rogers added.

Harley said that he didn't report the relationship to school officials because he didn't think that the girl had "any evidence to show she was telling the truth," charging papers said.

Rogers said the district learned of the alleged sexual relationship in October.

"The staff at the school was diligent in investigating and calling the sheriff's office right away and we ended the student's contact with the coach who was still working for us when the allegations came to light," Rogers said.

According to a police report, Harley is now employed by Alaska Airlines and Siu lives in Oakland, Calif., and works for Hawaiian Airlines.

Rogers would not say whether the alleged victim is still a student at the school.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com