Former Track Coach Arraigned in 4 Rape Cases

HAYWARD, Calif. — A former track coach with a criminal record was arraigned Wednesday in the alleged rapes of four women, and a conviction could send him to prison for 35 years to life under the state’s three-strikes law.

Tony Ransom, who coached track at the girls-only Holy Names Catholic High School in Oakland, was arrested at his San Leandro home Monday in the Aug. 20 attack on a Chabot College student.

The four alleged rapes were part of a string of 14 reported attacks on women in the east San Francisco Bay Area.

Ransom faces 17 counts, including rape, penetration with a foreign object, assault with a deadly weapon and forced oral copulation.

Ransom spoke only once, answering “yeah” when asked if he accepted attorney Seth Chazin as his attorney.

Authorities said Ransom’s rap sheet bore a long list of convictions, including the two counts of first-degree burglary that make him eligible for three-strikes punishment.

Meanwhile, authorities continued their efforts to link him to the other reported attacks, which began July 16.

By Wednesday, most of the alleged victims had had the opportunity to observe the 37-year-old suspect in a police lineup, where more than one identified him, Oakland Police Capt. Pete Dunbar said.