A longtime San Jose taekwondo instructor dodged jailtime and will be allowed to continue coaching children at his martial arts studio. Andrew Suh, 37, was sentenced last Monday by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.
Suh is a taekwondo master and owns TAEMA Taekwondo. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor child molestation in exchange for the court dropping felony charges.
Judge Panteha Saban ordered Suh to register as a sex offender for 10 years and complete a sex offender treatment program. He can continuing coaching children at his martial arts studio if an adult is present, she said. “You must notify the students and parents of your registration status,” Saban told Suh in court Monday morning.
But to the parents of the girls he molested, that is hardest news to face. The sex offender laws state that since he owns this business, he doesn’t even have to report his sex offender registration to the children he teaches.
The victims’ mom says parents in San Jose should be aware.
“The girls saw him as a big brother, not just their master, he would relate to them as a big brother,” Mabanag said.
Mabanag says he abused that power. He used to sleep in the same tent as the kids when he took them camping, she said.
“They would be watching movies at his apartment when they were supposed to be training,” Mabanag remembers.
Eventually, the daughters spoke out, and Suh was charged in early 2019. His case was then postponed for years due to pandemic restrictions.
“I placed my kids in his hands. Him being arrested, I have to face the fact that I helped that,” she said. “I helped put them in the hands. I can’t tell you how that really feels.”
“We protected innocent before guilty. He had his rights taken care of. Now that he’s guilty, who is protecting the innocent?” Mabanag said.
a local news outlet reached out to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, and they never explained why he can still work with kids.
They said Suh has to report his sex offender registry to his students, but when we clarified the part of the law that excludes business owners, they didn’t respond.
“If this was a public school they wouldn’t have access,” Mabanag said. “If he was someone who was employed at a business it would be up to the business owner. Because he is an owner he gets the choice and the power to tell families. How is that fair to kids and families? This is a loophole in our law. There needs to be something to protect our kids more.”
The judge also imposed a criminal protective order barring Suh from contacting the victims. He received two-months credit for time served under house arrest.
The victims, who are sisters and were 15 years old at the time of the abuse, spoke at Suh’s sentencing hearing. Both sisters told Judge Saban that the abuse began with grooming that escalated into sexual abuse over time.
One of the sisters said in court, “Taekwondo was my entire life. My coaches became mentors. With Andrew being the main coach, all of my time was spent with him. I was his favorite athlete. Isolating me from my parents … you took advantage of me when I didn’t know any better.”
The sister addressed her former coach directly when she said, “You won’t be able to control us anymore.” She recited the tenets of taekwondo to him, detailing how he violated each one when he inappropriately touched her.
The sister said Suh would travel with her to taekwondo tournaments and sleep in the same room with her. “I wish you respected my body and boundaries,” she said.
The sisters testified that Suh was very controlling over their lives and relationships.
The second sister said she grew up viewing Suh as her “big brother.” Some of the abuse happened when the coach gave the girls with private one-on-one sessions, including session at his home.
“He stripped away my innocence for his pleasure,” the second sister said. She described a vicious cycle when her coach would break her down, play the role of her “savior,” and then molest her.
San Jose police said the abuse happened between 2013-2017. He was arrested in 2019.
The second sister said she wanted two things from the case’s conclusion. One was for Suh to “admit that he’s wrong. Even today, he does not do that. If he doesn’t think what he did was wrong, what’s stopping him from abusing the next kid?”
The second was for Suh to never coach children again. His sentence, however, allows him to. This is dangerous, the second sister said, because “no one dares to question his actions, this includes students, parents, and other instructors.”
Judge Saban told the victims that the sentence she handed down was in accordance with California law and the charge he pleaded no contest to. As part of the plea deal, felony charges were dropped from the case, Suh’s defense attorney said.
Judge Saban told the sisters, “I hope this sentencing gives you some closure today and helps you heal.”
The sisters said they spoke up about what happened to help protect Suh’s future students. Their mother said, “You had people who said they were lying. They stood their ground to speak their truth. They did it to protect others.”
And with this chapter of Suh’s legal battle behind them, Mabanag has a message to parents out there.
“Trust no one. Especially these private businesses. Do your homework. Trust no one with your most valuable asset. The moment that is damaged, that is hard to fix.”
