Swim Instructor Will Stand Trial

The popular will "march straight toward" a jury trial, skipping a step that requires prosecutors to prove they have enough evidence against him.

Todd Robert Sousa, 36, of Irvine, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday morning, and will return to Orange County Superior Court Aug. 22. , later to 16 felony charges.

A trial date has not yet been set.

His hands clasped behind his back, a band still on his ring finger, and dressed in a navy pinstripe suit and glasses, Sousa told Judge Stephanie George that he understood his decision to forgo the preliminary hearing was a permanent one.

"You can't change your mind," she told him. "Those rights are gone forever."

Because Sousa opted out of the preliminary hearing, details about the evidence prosecutors have against him, and his defense attorney's rebuttals, will likely not become public until the trial commences.

His defense attorney, Rodger M. Carey, would have also had the right to submit his own evidence and to call in any witnesses.

It is not uncommon for a defendant to waive his right to a preliminary hearing, Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said.

, authorities alleged. He is accused of "grooming" the victim and having unlawful sexual contact with her, including kissing and touching her breasts and vaginal area over her clothes.

Between April 1, 2010, and Feb. 18 of this year, prosecutors said, Sousa escalated the unlawful sexual conduct with digital penetration, oral copulation and sexual intercourse on several occasions. He is accused of sexually assaulting the girl in the office of his company, Swim Ventures, in an equipment closet and in his car.