Gymnastics coach sentenced to prison for sex assault of child
CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- A former gymnastics coach has admitted to sexual abuse of a child, and he's headed to prison. But authorities fear there may be more victims who have yet to come forward.
On Wednesday, Neptali Narvaez-Rojas, 57, entered a guilty plea to three counts of sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The punishment range for the charge is two to 20 years, and Narvaez-Rojas agreed to serve three sentences of 20, 10, and five years consecutively.
The charges and plea stem from abuse that occurred to one victim in Montgomery County. Due to the nature of the charges, authorities say Narvaez-Rojas will be required to serve a minimum of 17 years before he is even eligible for parole.
District Attorney Brett Ligon said, "People who sexually abuse children typically don't stop on their own, they must be stopped. People who sexually abuse children rarely feel sorry for what they've done, they only feel sorry they got caught. In this case, we've identified one of this man's victims and held him accountable for his actions, but if there are children out there who have suffered at his hands, we pray that they will come forward too."
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit got a report in March 2021 about a case of sexual assault of a child committed by a gymnastics coach who, at the time, was employed by Maximum Athletics Gym located in Magnolia.
The investigation determined that Narvaez-Rojas had access to countless children for many years during his employment as a gymnastics coach. Narvaez-Rojas has worked at the following gyms: Maximum Athletics in Magnolia, Texas; Fun Fitness Gymnastics in Richmond, Texas; Champions Gymnastics in Katy, Texas; Chow Gymnastics and Dance in West Des Moines, Iowa; Oklahoma Gold Gymnastics, International Boys Gymnastics, Jenks Gymnastics, American Gymnastics and Krafft Gymnastics, all in Oklahoma. He also worked at a number of locations in Venezuela.
This plea resolves charges against one identified victim and does not preclude prosecution on behalf of any unknown victims. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office asks anyone who Narvaez-Rojas may have harmed to contact 936-760-5800 and speak with a detective.
