An Idaho high school basketball coach/teacher’s assistant has been arrested after being accused of sexual battery on a minor, according to police. Ann Kuroki, 26, was apprehended by the Gooding County Police Department for the alleged sexual battery against a child 16 or 17 years of age, according to KMVT-TV. If convicted, Kuroki may be sentenced to life in prison or up to 25 years behind bars, depending on the violation.
Kuroki was fired by Idaho city’s school district following the arrest. She had formerly worked at Gooding High School. The city of Gooding is roughly 100 miles southeast of the state capital, Boise.
What Happened?
The former teacher’s assistant/basketball coach is currently being held without bail at the Gooding County Jail on a felony child molestation charge, according to online records. The Gooding County Sheriff’s Office says that Kuroki was booked into the jail Friday night.
On Wednesday, the Gooding County Police Department began an investigation into the 26-year-old after learning that she “could be having a relationship with a male student,” according to KMVT-TV.
Gooding Police Chief Dave Fisher reported that the accused Ann Kuroki was fired by the school district on Thursday morning. The school district also claimed to have launched their own investigation into the matter.
Kuroki is scheduled to appear in court this Monday for her arraignment, according to KMVT-TV.
According to an agenda posted by the Gooding Joint School District’s Board of Trustees, Kuroki’s employment at Gooding High School will be officially terminated at a Monday night meeting.
If convicted, Kuroki faces up to 25 years to life in prison depending on the classification of the sexual battery charge.
According to Idaho state law, the crime regarding sexual battery of a minor who is 16 or 17 years of age becomes a felony “for any person at least five (years of age older than a minor child who is sixteen or seventeen years of age, who, with the intent of arousing, appealing to or gratifying the lust, passion, or sexual desires of such person, minor child, or third party,” to
“(a) Commit any lewd or lascivious act or acts upon or with the body or any part or any member thereof of such minor child including, but not limited to, genital-genital contact, oral-genital contact, anal-genital contact, oral-anal contact, manual-anal contact or manual-genital contact, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, or who shall involve such minor child in any act of explicit sexual conduct as defined in section 18-1507, Idaho Code; or
(b) Solicit such minor child to participate in a sexual act; or
(c) Cause or have sexual contact with such minor child, not amounting to lewd conduct as defined in paragraph (a) of this subsection; or
(d) Make any photographic or electronic recording of such minor child.”
Accoridng to state law, if she violates subsection (A) then she faces up to life in prison. However, if Kuroki is found guilty of subsections (B), (C) and (D) then she will face up to 25 years in prison. At this moment, it isn’t known what subsction the 26-year-old will be charged under.
Who Is Ann Kuroki?
Ann Kuroki
Ann Kuroki worked at Gooding High School as a basketball coach and teacher’s assistant. She has been staying in Gooding County Jail since Friday night after being charged with sexual battery against a child 16 or 17 years of age.
Gooding County Police first learned of this accusation after receiving an anonymous tip saying that Kuroki “could be having a relationship with a male student,”
According to the accused’s Instagram account (which now appears has been set to private or deleted), she moved to Idaho in early 2017. Before that, she was living in California.
“Moving here 6 months ago has been the most mentally challenging transition I’ve had to make coming from a completely different life/lifestyle in California. But the lessons I’ve learned and blessings I’ve received let me know that I’m right where I’m supposed to be; no matter how temporary. S/O to this this dime for being my biggest supporter and rock no homo. Love you long time,” wrote Kuroki in an Instagram caption, referencing a close friend from Idaho.
According to her Facebook, she grew in Hershey, Nebraska. Kuroki had graduated from Southern Virginia University in 2015, according to the Daily Mail. She also played college basketball at this “private liberal arts college dedicated to educating Latter-day Saints and those with similar standards and ideals,” according to SVU’s website. She was also a member of the women’s tennis team.
She enrolled in SVU in 2012, where she earned a degree in general studies and humanities in 2015. She also earned an associate’s degree in psychology in 2012 from Mid-Plains Community College. According to her Linkedin profile, she also played basketball at Mid-Plains. Kuroki had also spent two years at Bellevue University, studying behavioral sciences.
Kuroki had lived in many states prior to her arrest, including Nebraska, Virginia, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, California and now Idaho, according to her Instagram. According to her Linkedin page, before she moved to Idaho, she worked as a sales manager at Vivint Solar. At the time, she was living in Sunnyvale, California.
The 26-year-old had also spent time working as a receptionist in Houston, a bartender/server in Nebraska, and as a live-in nanny in Las Vegas.
She had no prior criminal record leading to Friday’s arrest.
