North Salinas High School coach arrested on rape charges
Suspected rapist John Anthony Fickas. Photo: Monterey County sheriff's office.
SALINAS, Calif. (BCN) - A political consultant who is also a coach at North Salinas High School was arrested last week on rape charges brought by both the Monterey County Sheriff's Office and the Salinas Police Department.
John Anthony Fickas was taken into custody at the Salinas Courthouse, where he was appearing on an unrelated matter, the sheriff's office said on its Facebook account.
Fickas, a Salinas resident, has been a consultant to a number of area political campaigns and has also been a non-faculty coach of girls field hockey and track and field at North Salinas High, the sheriff's office said, sometimes enlisting local students as political campaign volunteers to earn community service hours.
The sheriff's office concluded an investigation of several months into a 2009 case involving Fickas, while Salinas police were investigating a 2015 case.
"The facts in both cases showed striking similarities," the sheriff's office said.
"The victims in these cases do not know each other and reported the cases months apart."
It was noted that the Salinas Union High School District "has cooperated with the sheriff's office at every step of this investigation."
Fickas was booked into Monterey County Jail on two counts of rape by use of drugs, two counts of rape of an unconscious person, one count of sodomy of an unconscious person and one count of sodomy by anesthesia or controlled substance.
His bail was set at $400,000.
Investigators say there there may be other victims of Fickas and are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Sgt. Bryan Hoskins at (831) 755-3773 or Detective Rosy Silva at (831) 755-3818.