Oscar Olea, a longtime gymnastic coach on Key Biscayne, has been charged with two counts of sexual battery, police said Wednesday. According to the arrest warrants, the charges involve two different women.
On Thursday, he was ordered held without bond by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge.
“This investigation commenced in September of 2023, and because of that investigation additional victims came forward,” the statement from police read. “Investigators conducted several interviews, which developed probable cause.”
Frank Sousa, Key Biscayne’s police chief, said Olea turned himself in at Miami-Dade Police Department’s headquarters, and was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Jail.
Olea was booked on two warrants that cited a statute involving sexual battery on a child 12 years or older by a custodian, according to Miami-Dade Police records. The first-degree felony carries a maximum term of life in prison.
Beatriz Llorente, Olea’s defense attorney, argued that bond should be granted at a brief hearing Thursday. She said Olea turned himself in and has been fully cooperative with Key Biscayne police. But Judge Mindy Glazer sided with prosecutors who asked for pre-trial detention. Another bond hearing will take place Friday.
A corrections spokesman said that Olea was wearing a protective garment after an evaluation by medical staff indicated he was at risk of self-harm.
Olea was classifed as a “Level One” mental health inmate. The garment is designed to prevent it from being shredded or tied or used in a way that could lead to self-harm.
“The Key Biscayne Police Department made an arrest today on serious allegations that have been weighing on our community for some time,” Key Biscayne Mayor Joe Rasco said in an Instagram post. “It took a lot of courage for the victims to come forward.”
The arrest comes after renewed interest in Olea following two stories published by the Miami Herald which detailed two cases more than a decade old.
During the bon hearing, Llorente told the judge, “This is all led by a Miami Herald reporter who has been very very vocal on the news, getting her name on the paper for this story.” Both of the Herald reporters appeared on the Anti-Social podcast on Feb. 8 at the offices of the Key Biscayne Independent.
The renewed interest in Olea started last fall when police looked into accusations that he inappropriately touched two students, ages 4 and 7, at Flipout Workout. The investigation did not result in any charges after evidence was reviewed by the State Attorney’s office.
However, the Miami Herald also detailed two other cases – more than a decade old – where accusations of sexual battery were made to Key Biscayne police at the time. The teen victims chose not to press charges at the time.
The two women came forward to Key Biscayne police on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, according to the arrest warrants.
The first victim said she had been sexually battered when she was 14 years old in 2011 and 2012 after being lured into taking private lessons with Olea.
The woman told police Olea would tell her that he loved her and the two would marry.
“The (v)ictim stated she was living with the illusion that they would end up together. The (v)ictim said (he) would kiss her on the lips, hug, and hold her hand, leading to a sexual relationship during her private classes,” one warrant stated.
The same woman said she had sexual intercourse with Olea approximately ten times and had a pregnancy scare, leading Olea to take her to a Coral Gables doctor’s office for an ultrasound, according to the warrant.
The victim’s mother went to Key Biscayne police with her suspicions in 2012 but the victim denied any sexual relationship with Olea at the time.
A second victim went to police on Jan. 31, according to a second warrant. She told detectives she was sexually assaulted by Olea between 2007 to 2010 from the ages of 14 to 17.
“During the sexual incidents at American Gymster, (Olea) placed mats, cones and other objects against the wall to conceal them from the view of the public, as they had sexual intercourse between the cubbies during the private lessons in the late evening,” the warrant states.
Olea sodomized her with a “glass object” during an encounter in his apartment, according to the warrant.
Key Biscayne police said the investigation into Olea remains active and ongoing.
“This shows that we listen to everybody and we investigate. We had willing cooperating victims at this time and we were able to get probable cause to make an arrest,” Sousa said.
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JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.
Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.