FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2013, file photo, Bahram Hojreh coaches youngsters at at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos, Calif. Hojreh, who ran a club affiliated with USA Water Polo, has been charged with the sexual abuse of seven underage female players during one-on-one coaching sessions, prosecutors said Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The victims were underage female water polo players and the alleged crimes occurred between 2014 and January of this year, the Orange County district attorney's office said. (Rose Palmisano/The Orange County Register via AP)

LOS ANGELES - The Latest on molestation charges against a California water polo coach (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

The governing body for water polo in the United States says a Southern California coach charged with molesting his players has been suspended.

Bahram Hojreh pleaded not guilty Wednesday to multiple charges including sexual battery. He's accused of assaulting seven juvenile girls during one-on-one coaching sessions dating back to 2014.

USA Water Polo CEO Christopher Ramsey says in a statement that Hojreh had his national membership and his seat on a regional board revoked when it was revealed he was being investigated in January.

Hojreh was ordered back to court for a pretrial hearing in June.

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2:05 p.m.

A Southern California water polo coach has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused seven of his young female players.

Bahram Hojreh appeared Wednesday in Orange County court on counts including sexual battery and lewd acts upon a child.

Hojreh's lawyer, Ricardo Nicol, tells The Associated Press his client denies the accusations. Nicol says Hojreh never had a blemish on his record after working with hundreds of children over two decades.

Prosecutors say the alleged crimes occurred during one-on-one coaching sessions between 2014 and this year. Four of the girls were 15 years old or younger Investigators are searching for additional possible victims.

The 42-year-old was released on $250,000 bond.

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12:20 p.m.

Prosecutors say a coach has been charged with the sexual abuse of seven girls in a Southern California water polo club.

The Orange County District Attorney's office announced Wednesday that Bahram Hojreh faces charges including sexual battery and sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor. It wasn't immediately known if Hojreh has an attorney.

The charges come months after his group, the International Water Polo Club, was removed from using the pool at a military base. Police informed base officials they were investigating allegations involving sexual misconduct against the program's director.

Hojreh touts himself as a coach for nearly a quarter-century who has "helped develop multiple Olympians."

He serves on the board for a local chapter of USA Water Polo, the sport's governing body in the United States.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018