A prominent Orange County water polo coach received a conviction this week of sexually assaulting ten teenage girls over the course of several years.

Coach Bahram Hojreh (46) from Irvine, California, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday of 22 felony counts, which included sexual battery, sexual penetration, and lewd acts on a child.

Hojreh was convicted of sexually assaulting nine water polo players between the ages of 13 and 17 years old from 2012 to 2017.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a 10th athlete over five years.

Most of Hojreh’s assaults occurred underwater, where parents watching from the sidelines couldn’t see what was happening.

The young victims say Horjeh “touched their breasts, twisted their nipples, touched their genitals above and below their swimsuits and digitally penetrated them underwater during coaching sessions – actions he explained were to ‘toughen them up’ for competition.”

Victims say that Hojreh’s reputation as an accomplished coach kept them hopeful that he would be the path to fulfilling their athletic dreams.

Hojreh faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in state prison plus six months in the OC jail.