Former Las Vegas wrestling coach accused of lewdness, sexual assault

A Las Vegas wrestling coach has been arrested in connection with the assaults of two girls who participated in events for the school where he worked.

John Washington, known by his wrestling name of Owen Travers, is accused of assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a minor under 14 while working as a coach for Future Stars of Wrestling, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Washington was arrested Nov. 25 and charged with three counts of sexual assault against a child under 16, two counts of lewdness with a child under 14 and three counts of lewdness with a child between 14 and 15, according to court records.

A representative with the school said Washington was fired after managers learned of the charges in May.

Washington was first reported to police in September 2019 when a parent told police his daughter, who is now 17, was coming forward that she was assaulted in 2017, according to the arrest report.

Another woman told police that in 2015 she was assaulted when Washington asked her to help move wrestling equipment inside before an event, police said.

She told Washington that she was going to report the assault and he allegedly told the victim, “I am an adult. You are a kid. Who do you think they’re going to believe?” and “I’ve known these people for years. You have only known them for a few months,” the report said.

Las Vegas police said that they are looking for more possible victims and that anyone with information was encouraged to call Metro’s sexual assault section at 702-828-3421.

Court records show Washington is now a limousine driver.

Washington was released from custody with high-level electronic monitoring and a bail condition he have no unsupervised contact with minors. He is scheduled to appear in court again Dec. 21.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.