Assemblywoman’s Husband Faces Charges After Youth Soccer Confrontation

Rod Olsen, husband of California State Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto), faces a misdemeanor charge of permitting a child to suffer physical pain or mental suffering after an incident during a youth soccer practice, in which Olsen allegedly grabbed a 4-year-old boy by the arm and screamed at him, causing him to urinate his pants.

Matt Price, who says he is the father of the boy, posted on Facebook his outrage with the incident.

“I was outraged to find that there was only a misdemeanor charge brought up. A grown man physically assaulted a four-year-old child resulting in five written statements from eyewitnesses with multiple photos of the abuse, and because it’s the spouse of a political figure he gets a slap on the hand.”

Modesto Youth Soccer Chairman Frank Cousineau says MYSA launched an investigation when the incident allegedly occurred in August. Cousineau explained that Olsen was a spectator and not a coach. The investigation included three separate league officials and two spoke to Olsen and other parents who were on the sideline when the alleged incident occurred.

“We couldn’t tell if the allegations could be substantiated. We take all allegations seriously, but we couldn’t corroborate the allegations. The child was removed from the team to make the situation more comfortable,” said Cousineau.

Cousineau says that once the investigation went to the Modesto Police Department it was “out of our hands.”

“Olsen has had no other incidents with children that we know of,” added Cousineau.

TurlockCityNews.com attempted to obtain a statement from Rod Olsen but he has not replied. In other media reports, Olsen says the accusation is false.