MORAGA — A local tennis instructor has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a teen girl he met on the court, court records show.
Michael Roy Howard, 64, has been arrested on suspicion of four counts related to sexual abuse of a minor and meeting a minor with lewd intent, all felonies. He is being held in lieu of $325,000 bail but has not been charged yet, and unless prosecutors file charges by Friday afternoon he will be released from jail, authorities said.
Howard, who has addresses in San Francisco and Moraga, allegedly met the girl last year while giving lessons in Contra Costa County. The girl would later tell authorities that Howard was coaching young children at a local court when they happened to cross paths, but that he showed an interest in her and began giving her rides home after tennis workouts.
As they got to know each other, Howard began making comments about the girl’s looks, and told her things like, “you’d be my perfect woman if only you were a little older and could cook,” and that he didn’t believe she was “mentally” a high schooler, according to authorities.
Howard also gave the girl a free tennis lesson, took her out to lunch, and touched her inappropriately during that meeting, according to authorities. The sexual abuse allegedly occurred after he convinced her to accompany him to his Moraga home last June.
The girl told authorities that she was scared when Howard began “aggressively” kissing and touching her but she was scared to leave. After the first act of sexual abuse he allegedly tried to convince her to meet him at a hotel in the future, but she refused, authorities said.
Howard was arrested Wednesday in Danville, and reportedly made a statement to police, but authorities haven’t revealed the details of it. Police say they’re also investigating a statement from the girl that Howard sent her a picture of his genitals and that he made a remark about having filmed the sexual abuse after the incident at his home.
Authorities say Howard gave lessons to children around the Bay Area, not just in Contra Costa, and that the case remains under investigation.