Former VUSD employee pleads guilty to child molestation charges

VISTA — A former Vista Unified School District employee and Carlsbad water polo coach pleaded guilty Monday to several charges after allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl at an Oceanside park last year. 

Conner Chanove, 28, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty in Vista Superior Court to three felonies, including two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 14 and one count of luring a minor for sex, and one misdemeanor count of arranging an illicit meeting with a minor.

He previously pleaded not guilty to four felonies in November. 

Chanove’s plea includes a stipulated 10-year prison sentence, and he has been remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing hearing on Aug. 5, according to San Diego County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Tanya Sierra. 

Law enforcement arrested Chanove in November after a woman reported that she had discovered her 13-year-old daughter inside a vehicle with an adult male at Guajome Regional Park in Oceanside. The man was later identified as Chanove. 

Prosecutors said Chanove’s pants were down, and the girl later disclosed that she had touched Chanove’s penis and kissed him. Law enforcement found Snapchat messages between Chanove and the child detailing plans to meet at the park on the day of the incident. 

Chanove was working part-time in the Vista Unified School District when he was arrested and had held roles as a substitute teacher, counselor and instructional aide. 

He also worked as a girls’ coach for the Seaside Water Polo Club in Carlsbad and had previously worked as a lifeguard in Encinitas and Carlsbad. 

The Coast News has reached out to Chanove’s defense attorney for comment.