Four-count indictment returned for accused Pine Crest swim coach

More on this post about my besmirched high school in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Vanessa Blum:

A Fort Lauderdale grand jury has returned a four-count indictment charging a Pine Crest School swim coach with possessing and transmitting child pornography.

Roberto Caragol, who has been detained at Miami's Federal Detention Center since Nov. 18, will be arraigned Thursday in Miami federal court. Caragol, 35, of Plantation coached 8- to 14-year-old swimmers at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale. School officials fired Caragol after his arrest.

In a Nov. 18 interview with an FBI agent, Caragol admitted he traded hundreds of pornographic images of young boys via e-mails and had sexual contact with minors dating to 2001, prosecutors allege. He is charged with three counts of possessing child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography in interstate commerce. If convicted of all counts, Caragol would face a maximum prison term of 50 years. Additional charges could be filed after a complete investigation.

Pine Crest boasts one of the top swimming programs in the state. Caragol previously coached boys' swimming at Cypress Bay High School and numerous area clubs.

Investigators confronted the popular coach in October after receiving information that his e-mail address was used to transmit four pornographic images of young boys.

According to prosecutors, Caragol denied the allegations but turned over his laptop computer. A search uncovered approximately 40 illicit images, prosecutors said.

After the discovery, Caragol admitted he had sent and received child pornography and said he had had sexual contact with children younger than 18, prosecutors said.

Caragol's attorney could not be reached for comment following Tuesday's indictment.

Eleanor: Of course I am disappointed that this man has committed a heinous crime that violates the code of professional conduct.

Teacher misconduct has become an epidemic. Certainly teachers that stand in for parents, "en loco parentis," can not be allowed to violate that trust, an outrage that shames the rest of us.