Former Berean Christian High basketball coach Catherine Handlin, 24, faces felony charges after a police investigation determined she had two sexual encounters with a 17-year-old student. (Walnut Creek Police Department)

WALNUT CREEK -- A former girls basketball coach has been arrested and charged with two felonies after a police investigation determined she had two sexual encounters with a minor, authorities said.

Catherine Handlin, 24, was a junior varsity girls basketball coach at Berean Christian High School -- a private school in Walnut Creek -- until these allegations surfaced. She faces charges of oral copulation with a minor -- which would require Handlin to register as a sex offender if she's convicted -- and sex with a minor, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. She is also accused of exchanging sexual texts with students.

The investigation started Jan. 8, after the school received an anonymous tip that Handlin had been engaging in inappropriate conduct with a student, and immediately called police. Detectives located two male students -- an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old -- who admitted to receiving nude pictures from Handlin, police said.

Handlin never coached either of the students, according to authorities. Principal Nelson Noriega said he alerted parents at the beginning of the investigation and recently sent out a second mass email explaining to families what had happened.

Authorities conducted interviews and determined that Handlin had engaged in two sexual encounters with the 17-year-old, and she was arrested on Jan. 10. She has been released after posting $70,000 bail but was fired from her coaching job the same day the allegations surfaced, police said.


"(School officials) did contact police pretty promptly," deputy district attorney Bruce Flynn, head of the county's sex assault unit, said.

According to authorities, the sexual encounters happened Dec. 31 and Jan. 7 in cars parked in Clayton and Walnut Creek.

Handlin's attorney, Dan O'Malley, called the incident "an unfortunate mistake in judgment."

"She's taking responsibility for it," he said.

Handlin's father, Mike, echoed that sentiment.

"Catherine made a mistake," he told ABC7 News. "She's taking responsibility. She's a young adult. There's no reason to drag her over the coals for the rest of her life for this."

Both Catherine Handlin, the students and school administrators cooperated fully with the investigation, police said. Authorities are confident that Handlin's purported sexual misconduct was limited to the two students.

The two charges are known to authorities as "wobblers" because they can be prosecuted as misdemeanors or felonies. After reviewing all the facts, authorities decided to prosecute the case as felonies, even though Handlin's alleged crimes weren't as egregious as many sex crimes that get prosecuted, such as child molestation or rape, Flynn said.

"It's a position of trust issue, with a student and teacher or coach," he said. "That's the thing that's troubling about it."

Principal Noriega said that since the allegations have surfaced, the school has been "grieving" and that the experience -- his first sex scandal in 40 years of working at schools -- has been "nerve-wracking."

"It really breaks my heart. We're a faith-based school, and we're committed to our faith, and when we hire people, we vet them for their character," he said. "I'm saddened for her, but I'm also saddened for the students and how this is going to affect the rest of their lives."

Contact Nate Gartrell at 925-779-7174, or follow him at Twitter.com/nategartrell.