Jeremy Haggerty, a former youth basketball coach who was sentenced in 2019 to nine years in prison as part of a plea deal for sexually abusing boys he coached, is scheduled to be released on parole Tuesday, according to staff from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Lt. Daniel Schumacher, a state correctional officer and public information officer for the Los Angeles County California State Prison, confirmed Haggerty’s scheduled release date. Schumacher said the actual date may fluctuate somewhat, but confirmed he is scheduled to be released.
According to a source familiar with the situation, documents indicate Haggerty will reside in Canyon Country and he will be released to post-release community supervision under the L.A. County Probation Department.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation describes PRCS as a form of “supervision provided to an offender who has been released from its institutions to the jurisdiction of a county agency, pursuant to the Post Release Community Supervision Act of 2011.”
Penal Code 3451 provides five categories under which an offender may be released from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into parole that is supervised by a county agency. Haggerty’s crimes fell under this code — giving him a chance at parole.
Haggerty pleaded guilty in May 2019 to six counts of lewd act upon a child and three counts of sexual battery, all felonies, according to court documents. As part of his sentencing, he was also ordered lifetime sex offender registration.
Haggerty worked as a basketball coach at several schools, including Canyon High School and Trinity Academy. He was accused of sexually assaulting nine victims, whose ages ranged between 14 and 17 years old, over the course of nearly a decade.
“He pleaded no contest,” said Greg Risling, spokesman for the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, after Haggerty’s sentencing in 2019. “(The sentence) was part of a negotiated plea agreement.”
Haggerty initially faced a maximum of 14 years in prison, but the judge sentenced him for nine years due to the plea agreement. His release date would have been November 2027.
From the moment of his detainment to his sentencing court date, he served 10 months in county jail. He was then admitted to the California Rehabilitation Center in August 2019 — and two years later he was eligible for parole on September 2021.
In Oct. 1, 2021, the Board of Parole Hearings denied Haggerty’s request to be released on parole, according to information from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But 13 months later the outcome was different.
He has served just about 49 months, or just over four years for his crimes.
According to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, this early release was made possible by Non-Violent Criminal and Juvenile Court Trial Requirements of 2016, or Proposition 57, which was passed by voters.
“…Also under Proposition 57, a process for parole consideration was established for eligible people convicted of nonviolent crimes,” according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website, under a section explaining Prop. 57. “Those who demonstrate that their release would not pose an unreasonable risk of violence to the community may be eligible for release upon serving the full term of their primary offense when an alternative sentence has been imposed.”
The goal was to reduce the number of inmates in state prisons.
In addition, the William S. Hart Union High School District paid out $1 million as part of a $4 million settlement after several victims, who were former students of Canyon High School, filed a lawsuit.
The plaintiffs in the civil suit against Haggerty and his former employer, the Hart district, alleged they had suffered personal injuries and damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse from their ex-basketball coach, Haggerty.
According to the complaint, the Hart district was described as partly responsible for the plaintiffs’ trauma and suffering, claiming that school district officials and employees were either negligent and/or complicit during Haggerty’s time at Canyon High.
“We want to assure our school community that we remain vigilant in our hiring practices and we will continue to support a climate where students are encouraged to speak up and staff is empowered to take action to ensure the safety and well-being of our students,” read a statement released by district officials when the settlement was announced earlier this year.
