A coach who worked with both a Fullerton College athletic program and a local youth soccer club has been arrested on suspicion of using Instagram to solicit a minor for sexual activity. Whittier police detectives took Michel Alvarez Macedo into custody on Wednesday, according to an official statement from the department.
Fullerton Rangers FC, the youth club where Macedo coached, said it suspended him immediately after learning of the police investigation and has since removed him from all club activities. As reported by CBS News, the club said Macedo no longer coaches for the organization and is confirming it is cooperating with the Whittier Police Department and will continue to do so as the investigation proceeds.
Fullerton Rangers FC is based in Fullerton and operates its programs out of 645 S. State College Boulevard, according to address details published in Whittier Police Department law enforcement notices. Per officers, Macedo also worked for the Fullerton College Women's Soccer Program, giving him access to athletes across different age levels beyond his youth club role.
A Coach With Roles at Two Programs
Macedo was listed as an assistant coach for the Fullerton College Women's Soccer Program on its official 2025 roster, serving his third season under head coach Pam Lewin, according to the college athletics department's own roster page. Separately, profiles maintained on the athletic recruiting platform FieldLevel identify him as head coach of the Fullerton Rangers FC Girls 2010 Girls Academy team, a youth bracket for early-teen athletes. It remains an open question whether the Instagram activity investigators are examining originated from contact tied to either of his coaching roles or from outside them.
The dossier reviewed for this report does not indicate whether Fullerton College has opened its own administrative review or taken employment action regarding Macedo, separate from the youth club's suspension.
What The Charge Carries Under State Law
The allegation against Macedo falls under California Penal Code Section 288.3, a statute enacted under Proposition 83 that makes it a felony to communicate or attempt to communicate with a minor with intent to commit a sexual felony, even when the contact happens entirely through online messaging without any physical meeting, according to the California Department of Justice. Standard felony bail schedules set bail for offenses under that section between $25,000 and $100,000 depending on county guidelines, with potential penalties including up to three years in state prison and mandatory sex offender registration upon conviction.
Youth Sports Safeguards And A Growing National Problem
California law already requires strict vetting of people who coach children. Assembly Bill 506 mandates that youth sports organizations across the state run Live Scan fingerprint background checks through the California Department of Justice and require child abuse prevention training for regular coaches and volunteers, per guidance published by youth soccer administrators.
Cases like this one are surfacing against a backdrop of a sharp national increase in reported online enticement of children. Mid-year statistics released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children showed CyberTipline reports of online child enticement nearly doubled nationwide, climbing from 292,951 in the first half of 2024 to 518,720 during the same period in 2025. The organization separately logged more than 20.5 million total reports of suspected child sexual abuse and online exploitation across the country in 2024.
Police Seek Additional Information
Whittier police have urged anyone with additional information or leads related to the case to contact Detective Corcoran directly at (562) 567-9283. Investigators have not publicly detailed how the alleged Instagram contact was discovered or whether additional victims have come forward, and formal charging decisions from prosecutors had not been reported as of this writing.
