Creepy high school coach who hid camera in locker room and secretly took pictures of naked teenage girls sentenced to serve almost a decade in prison

A former assistant varsity football coach at a high school in California has been sentenced to serve almost ten years in prison after he pled guilty last month to placing a hidden camera in the girls' locker room and secretly storing hundreds of pornographic images of underage girls taken while they were in various stages of undress.

In August 2021, another employee at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, about 45 minutes east of Los Angeles, discovered a hidden camera disguised as a cell phone charger in the girls' locker room. Investigators used surveillance footage to trace the camera back to David Arthur Riden, who had coached football at the school since 2015. He shortly thereafter resigned his coaching position.

On October 4, Riden, 53, pled guilty to three felony charges related to possessing "over 600 images of child sexual assault material and using a minor to produce child sexual assault material," the San Bernardino County district attorney's office said. He also pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge of secretly photographing a minor. In total, investigators claimed Riden possessed photographic material of at least 22 underage victims.

Last Friday, Riden was sentenced to serve nine years and four months in prison for those crimes. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

"Our Office is satisfied with the outcome of this plea, particularly on the felony charges," the San Bernardino DA said in a statement. "It ensures Riden is held accountable for his crimes and the victims will not have to endure a potentially lengthy trial and any further emotional trauma."

Though prosecutors are happy with the outcome, several victims and their parents remain frustrated. The victim initially referred to in court as Jane Doe 1 has since turned 18 and has decided to speak out openly about Riden's crimes.

"Once I was a girl who could take on anything," Jordyn Stotts said in a press conference. "Now I am a girl who is scared and who doesn’t know what to do."

Stotts also addressed Riden himself at the press conference: "[T]he game you played was sick. I talked to you almost every single day thinking how nice and sweet of a person you were and thinking of you as a coach who loves his job."

Stotts and nearly 50 other victims are currently being represented by high-profile attorney Gloria Allred, who added that "[m]any parents and their daughters have been on an emotional roller coaster" and that "some parents felt that he should be sentenced to substantially more time in custody."

Officials from Chaffey Joint Union High School District, which is currently embroiled in a lawsuit related to Riden's crimes, have called the case "deeply" concerning.

"Our support for our students is unwavering," said district superintendent Matthew Holton, "and we will not tolerate any actions that infringe on their privacy."