Ex-Shadow Hills High coach sentenced for sexually assaulting teen

The former Shadow Hills High School boys' basketball coach was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a teenager.

Ryan Leron Towner, 36, was arrested in June 2021. Authorities said the sexual assault took place between May and July 2018, however, it was reported later and the investigation began on April 23, 2021.

Last month, Towner pleaded guilty to felony counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old with force and unlawful intercourse with a minor, who was identified in court papers only as "Jane Doe."

In the interest of protecting the victim, we are only going to report that the victim is a minor and a former player. We are not releasing more specific details to help protect the victim in this case.

He made his plea directly to the court, without an agreement on sentencing with prosecutors, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Towner was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Monday. During his sentencing, Towner publicly apologized to the victim's family.

Towner coached the Shadow Hills boys' basketball team from 2018 through most of the 2021 season.

Towner missed the final 10 games of Shadow Hills' season. His absence came after the team had a positive COVID test within the program. Shadow Hills was forced to forfeit three league games in the process.

The day before his arrest, the school confirmed to News Channel 3 that they would not be bringing Towner back as the boys' head basketball coach.

According to Towner's bio that was on the school's website, he graduated from Cathedral City High School in 2004. He was hired as Shadow Hills' coach in May 2018. Prior to taking over at SHHS, he was an assistant coach at Palm Springs High School.

Watch News Channel 3 at 5 & 6 p.m. for more on Towner's sentencing, including what was said inside the courtroom.