WEST NEW YORK, NJ – A high school basketball coach at Memorial High School in West New York is facing multiple charges after he entered the girls’ locker room and sent multiple students who were minors inappropriate text messages on social media.
Ariel Alava, 41, was arrested and charged with attempted invasion of privacy and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Police arrested him at his West New York home and transported him to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
According to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, on Monday, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Alava, the Memorial High School basketball coach after being notified he entered a girls’ locker room and sent inappropriate messages to three minors on social media.
“A preliminary investigation determined Alava entered the girls’ locker room following a game played in Jersey City on January 27, 2022,” Suarez said. “Two 15-year-old female Memorial High School students and a former 17-year-old female student also reported receiving inappropriate messages on social media from Alava on various dates between August and October 2022. Alava, who was employed as a Paraprofessional with the West New York Board of Education, has since been removed from his position with the district.”