A former Como Park High School volleyball coach has admitted to sexually assaulting one of his players beginning in fall 2022.

Keng Cha, 31, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by a person in a position of authority for assaulting the teen girl. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22.

Keng Cha (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

The charges say Cha “engaged her in sex on four occasions” at various locations, including the back parking lot of the school, from fall 2022 to September 2023.

According to St. Paul Public Schools, Cha was a coach at Como Park from mid-August 2022 to Sept. 29, 2023, the day he was charged.

Cha reached a plea deal with the prosecution, which agreed to dismiss a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge in exchange for his admission to an added third-degree count.

The plea deal does not include a specific sentence, which will be up to Judge Sophia Vuelo. Prosecutors agreed to ask for no more than 7½ years in prison. His attorney can argue for a stayed prison sentence to probation.

Police were sent to Como Park High School on Sept. 28, 2023, on a report of criminal sexual conduct. The girl, who was 15 at the time, told officers that Cha got her number from the volleyball roster and started texting her in the summer of 2022. After about a month, she said, Cha asked her for sexual favors and nude videos, the criminal complaint says.

The assaults always happened in the backseat of his car, she told police. In one instance, Cha picked her up at her house after practice and drove about a half-hour to a place near a lake.

As officers were talking to the teen in the school office area, Cha sent texts to her, including one that asked, “Did you say anything to anyone about us?” the complaint says.

Officers learned Cha was at the school with the athletic director, who was terminating his employment with the school district. Police took him into custody. He told police he’d been “in a personal relationship” with the student that “progressed to sexual contact,” the complaint says.

Minnesota court records show that Cha has no prior criminal convictions.

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