Former Community Bible Church volunteer accused of sex acts with minor
Officials at Community Bible Church in Waterford, California, are cooperating with the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office in Modesto after David Odom, a former youth group volunteer, was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony charges related to alleged sexual acts with a minor.
A statement from the Sheriff’s Office said the investigation of Odom, 38, began in February after a witness noticed him inside a suspicious vehicle parked in his orchard with a female “who looked young.”
The witness noted that while he did not see Odom doing anything with the female, he confronted him and asked him to leave his property. The witness later reported the incident to police, and it was assigned to Detective Alex Ruezga of the Waterford Police Services. During his investigation of Odom, Ruezga came across an incident from 2013 where Odom was alleged to be in a relationship with a 16-year-old female. The case was closed because the suspected victim did not provide detectives with enough information to act on.
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Ruezga decided to follow-up with the suspected victim from the 2013 incident, who is now an adult, and she admitted to having a sexual relationship with Odom in 2013, and said he was aware she was a minor.
It was later learned that Odom held several volunteer positions in the community over the years where he had contact with minors, including at Waterford High School in 2009, where he worked as an assistant coach for one year. He also served as a youth group volunteer at Community Bible Church in 2012 for a year.
From 2021 until 2023, investigators said, Odom also served as a volunteer track coach at Hughson High School until he was fired.
“School staff observed him holding hands with a former student. Witnesses told investigators that Mr. Odom had inappropriate relationships with female students while he was working as a volunteer track coach at Hughson High School,” detectives said.
Odom was charged with oral copulation with a minor and sexual penetration of a minor in connection with the allegations from the 2013 victim. He was booked in the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center Jail, but has since been released after posting a $125,000 bail.
“We are aware of the arrest of David Odom, who was a volunteer track coach at Hughson High School from 2021 to 2023, when he was fired after staff observed him holding hands with a former female student who was 18 years old at the time,” Hughson Unified School District Superintendent Brenda Smith said in a statement.
“The current charges are related to his work in Waterford, an alleged inappropriate relationship with an underage girl there in 2013; however, witnesses have told sheriff’s investigators that Odom also may have had inappropriate contact with one or more female students in Hughson. Hughson Unified will continue to cooperate with investigators,” Smith added.
Anyone with additional information that can help the police in their investigation is being asked to contact Detective Ruezga by calling (209) 652-0724, emailing him at [email protected] or leaving a tip with Stanislaus County Area Crime Stoppers through stancrimetipc.org or call 1-866-60-CRIME.
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