California Black Media

COMPTON — Compton Unified School District’s athletic director faces felony charges for allegedly helping a high school basketball coach deposit a check from Nike into the coach’s personal bank account, prosecutors said Monday.

Ernest Bernard Carr, 60, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on one felony count each of grand theft of personal property and forgery.

Prosecutors allege Carr forged a letter, purporting to be from Dominguez High School’s principal, authorizing school basketball coach Russell Otis to deposit a $15,000 check from Nike — made out to the Compton Unified School District — into Otis’ personal bank account.

Carr was released on $20,000 bail following his arrest April 16 by school police.

Otis, 46, was charged in March with the same counts, along with two felony counts of burglary, one felony count of meeting a minor for lewd purposes and one misdemeanor count of child molesting — the latter two charges involving alleged conduct last Aug. 30 with a boy under 18.

Otis, who has pleaded not guilty and is on leave from his coaching duties, had returned to his job after being acquitted in April 2001 of charges that he molested a 17-year-old boy on the school’s basketball team.

The grand theft, forgery and burglary charges stem from an investigation by Compton School District Police, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Otis allegedly received a stipend of more than $2,000 as a golf coach, though Dominguez High has no golf program, and allegedly received cash reimbursements of $2,500 between May 20 and June 1, 2007, without providing proper receipts.

Otis’ attorney, Leonard Levine, who successfully defended the basketball coach eight years ago, has maintained that his client is “totally innocent.’’

“It’s unfortunate he has to go through this again,’’ Levine said in March, noting that the latest sex-related charges involve allegations of text messages.

Otis, who is free on bail, has pleaded not guilty. He is due back in Compton Superior Court on May 19, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.