NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — More details are coming to light after a former high school wrestling coach was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a student.
Earlier this week, North Las Vegas police arrested 25-year-old Rene Ruiz, who previously coached at Mojave High School. He was let go before his arrest.
According to an arrest report, the incident happened on May 13. The victim told police she and three of her friends went over to Ruiz's house. She said Ruiz's fiance was asleep upstairs but that Ruiz and her friends were all drinking Four Loco's beers and different alcoholic shots throughout the night as well as smoking a THC vape pen.
The report states she told officers that one friend went home, another fell asleep on the couch, and a third was asleep in a bathtub. She said that she and Ruiz ended up wrestling on the living room floor when he pinned her in a position where she was touching his genitalia. She told police she ignored it and they finished wrestling. Then he went to the kitchen and she said she saw Ruiz with his hand down his shorts but she ignored that as well.
Awhile later, Ruiz said he was building a gym in his garage so they went out to look at weights Ruiz said "he had stolen." When the pair were walking back inside the house, she told police Ruiz pushed her up against a corner wall inside the door, made her get on her knees, and perform a sex act on him.
She said after that, Ruiz went upstairs and she went downstairs. However, when Ruiz returned, she said they "began to talk and wrestle on the floor again." This time, she told police she was on her back, Ruiz had gotten between her legs, and was trying to pull her shorts down. That's when she told officers Ruiz began to bite her. She said one of her friends came downstairs and saw them but Ruiz told them to go back to sleep so they went back upstairs.
The victim told police that she and Ruiz then went to the backyard and she started throwing up. She said Ruiz had his hand down his shorts again and "told her to look at it." She said no and that she threw up again. That's when Ruiz told her "if we're not going to do anything, then I'm gonna knockout." Then, he passed out on the ground.
According to the report, the girl told police she woke up with a bruise on her right shoulder, scuffs and bruises on her knees, and several bite marks on her thighs. When police came to talk to her the first time, she said she lied because she was "too scared and embarrassed to tell her friends and she didn't want to be a snitch." However, she said after she heard Ruiz had "done something to other girls", she decided to come forward.
On Tuesday, Ruiz was arrested. During an interview, Ruiz told detectives he had some of the kids from his team over to his house on several occasions. When they asked Ruiz to name them, the report states Ruiz asked for a lawyer.
He was taken to the North Las Vegas Community Correction Center and is facing multiple charges including sexual assault, gross lewdness, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Anyone who may have been a victim of Ruiz or has information about this crime is urged to contact the North Las Vegas Police Department by phone at 702-633-9111. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
