SIMI COACH TO FACE TRIAL IN SEX CASE; MAN, 22, CHARGED WITH 10 COUNTS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

A former assistant track coach at Simi Valley High School was ordered Thursday to stand trial on 10 felony counts of having unlawful sex with a minor.

Robert America, 22, faces up to six years in prison if convicted on all charges stemming from his yearlong relationship with a 16-year-old Simi Valley girl. He is free on his own recognizance.

The victim, who is now 18, testified that she and America discussed their age difference last fall and were both aware that their relationship was illegal.

``I said to him, are you sure that my age doesn't bother you? And he said, `No. I feel as though our age difference isn't a big deal. It's like we're the same age,' '' the girl testified.

The girl said she began an affair with America on Jan. 15, 1996, after they saw a movie together. She said she was certain of the date because she kept the ticket stub and wrote about the incident in her diary.

During questioning by Deputy District Attorney Adam Pearlman, the girl said she documented most of their sexual activity in her diary.

The girl told of 10 times she had sex with America, accounting for the 10 felony charges. They had sex in his parent's house, in her bedroom, on a hill overlooking Simi Valley, and twice in a classroom where a closet was used to store track equipment, she said. One time they had sex in the classroom during a Saturday morning track practice.

The girl also said that America, an assistant discus and shot put coach, lived in the closet for months before he was fired in March 1996, after her parents complained to school officials about the relationship.

The girl said she lied about her relationship with America when questioned by the school principal and police.

``I didn't want anything to happen to him,'' she testified. ``I didn't want him to go to jail because I loved him.''

She said she finally told police about the affair because America had begun seeing another girl and also because the defendant got into a dispute with her father.