Torrance wrestling coach Thomas Snider was charged with 33 counts of lewd acts with a child — Torrance Police
A California high school wrestling coach has been charged with profoundly disturbing allegations of lewd acts involving children, putting his future and freedom in question.
As reported by Los Angeles ABC affiliate KTLA, Torrance High School wrestling coach and teacher Thomas Snider was served with an astounding 33 felony counts of lewd acts with a child and eight lesser charges of child annoyance. The charges followed a three-month investigation by Torrance Police, who were alerted to Snider’s alleged misconduct by students who directly accused the coach of sexual misconduct.
Snider’s bail has been set prohibitively high at $900,000 because of the nature of his alleged crimes. He has been on administrative leave since January, when allegations against him first surfaced, but he has not been removed from staff lists or otherwise officially excluded from Torrance High.
During the police investigation, Snider’s lawyer had loudly protested his client’s innocence.
“There is no substance or proof to any inappropriate conduct,” Richard Schwab told the Torrance Daily Breeze. “This has been very devastating to him and to his family and whoever is doing this is making some very malicious accusations. …It’s unfortunate we are living today in a world where allegations take on a life of their own and can potentially ruin people’s lives.”
That is sure to change now. Though details behind the charges against Snider remain scant, the number of charges against him, and their severity, are sure to raise alarms across the Torrance community about other students who may have been targeted by the 47-year-old Snider.