A North Bethesda soccer coach who pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual offense must leave the country, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled on Monday.

Juan Jose Aranguri, 47, of the 5700 block of Luxemburg Street in North Bethesda, was found guilty of third-degree sexual offense on Sept. 22 after being charged with sexually molesting three young female soccer players he coached, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to one count of an 11-count indictment.

On Monday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Louise Scrivener sentenced Aranguri to 10 years in prison — the maximum sentence for third-degree sex offense — but suspended the prison time. Scrivener sentenced Aranguri to five years of unsupervised probation and ordered that he leave the country by Tuesday. Aranguri will return to his native Peru, according to Emily White, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office, and will be permanently barred from re-entering the country.

"His immigration status is going to be flagged, so if he tried to re-enter at any time it would be noticed," White said.

If Aranguri attempts to re-enter the country, he could face federal prosecution, White said.

Aranguri is also required to register as a sex offender and is barred from having any contact with the three victims that came forward with allegations against him, as well as their families, White said.

The portion of the indictment to which Aranguri pleaded guilty stated that he rubbed his penis against a 13-year-old victim sometime between January and March 2007. Police said the incident occurred while he was acting as the girl's personal trainer. Prosecutors aren't pursuing further charges contained in the indictment as a part of a plea agreement, according to Seth Zucker, a spokesman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney's office.

Aranguri was arrested and released on bond three times last year in relation to the charges. His original arrest came after an alleged incident on July 9, 2008 at the South America Soccer Academy in Potomac, which he directed. According to charging documents, Aranguri massaged the legs of a 12-year-old girl and touched her inappropriately. He was released on $50,000 bond.

He was arrested again Aug. 26, 2008 after being charged with inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl while helping her stretch her legs in 2004, and released on $25,000 bond. Aranguri was arrested for the third time in early October after a third victim came forward with allegations against him, and was released on $50,000 bond.

Before his third arrest, Aranguri had already stepped down as coach of a girls' team with the Bethesda Soccer Club and was suspended from other coaching duties with MSI, one of the county's largest soccer clubs.

Aranguri's lawyer, John McKenna, had no comment after the sentencing. Aranguri did not return a phone call for comment.

Families in the county soccer community have had a mixed reaction to the verdict.

"It's just so sad for the kids — or at least, kid — that this happened to," said Lance Van Winter, a Potomac resident and county soccer coach. All of Van Winter's three children play soccer, including his twin daughters who are freshman at Winston Churchill High School. "Being a parent, you like to believe these are things you hear about happening somewhere else."

Van Winter said that the county's soccer community prides itself on providing equal playing opportunities for girls and boys, and said he hoped the incident wouldn't deter girls who are interested in the sport.

Some family members of girls who Aranguri coached, however, stand by him despite the verdict. Tanya Nazarian, a family friend whose 13-year-old daughter was coached by Aranguri, said that she believes he is innocent. "I think he felt like he had no other choice [than to plead guilty]," Nazarian said.

Nazarian said Aranguri's family — his wife and four young children — have been devastated by the allegations. Nazarian said her daughter continues to support her one-time coach. "She started crying when she heard he was going to have to leave his children," Nazarian said.

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Erin Donaghue