A former Oak Harbor swim coach who was accused of sexually molesting at least a dozen young swimmers, including one Whidbey Island girl, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in a California courtroom Jan. 29.

Andrew “Andy” King, 61, pleaded no contest to 20 child molestation charges last year in the San Jose court.

King was a swim coach and aquatics director for North Whidbey Park and Recreation District until he mysteriously disappeared in 1997 amid rumors about his inappropriate behavior with girls.

In 2000, an Oak Harbor girl reported that King had raped and molested her while he was her swim coach from 1994 to 1997, when she was just 12 to 13 years old. An Oak Harbor police detective investigated the allegations, but King was never charged in the case.

The victim filed a $15 million claim for damages against the park and recreation district, claiming that the district was negligent in hiring, training, retaining and supervising King.

Last year, investigators in San Jose, Calif., investigated a report that King had molested a 14-year-old girl he coached. The detectives uncovered that King is a serial pedophile who used his position as a swim coach to molest young girls over a 30-year career.