A successful Broward County youth swimming coach, arrested this week on child porn charges, admitted he has committed sex acts with children since 2001, according to federal agents.Roberto Caragol, 35, of Plantation, has been an assistant at Fort Lauderdale's prestigious Pine Crest School since 2006, and formerly he was an all-county coach of the year who also coached boys swimming at Cypress Bay High in Weston.
Caragol surrendered to federal authorities Tuesday after an investigation revealed he had dozens of child-pornography images on his laptop. He allegedly told agents he has sent, received and possessed hundreds of images of young boys in recent years, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
There is no evidence Caragol abused his students. Authorities said the investigation is continuing, and the Broward Sheriff's Office is asking any potential victims to come forward through Crime Stoppers, 954-493-8477.`A DIFFICULT TIME'
''Mr. Caragol has been placed on administrative suspension,'' said Toni Marshall, spokeswoman for Pine Crest, where high school tuition starts at $21,000 a year. ``This is a difficult time for all of us at Pine Crest School. We have taken great care in responding to this situation and communicating with students, faculty and families.''
Pine Crest is a perennial powerhouse in the state swimming circuit, attracting students from all over the world. Last weekend, Caragol helped lead the boys' team to a second-place finish at the Class 1A State Championships in Orlando.
A prominent member of the South Florida swimming community, Caragol has coached traveling youth teams, including Metro Dade Aquatics and the Plantation Swim Team, and he is the general chairman of the Florida Gold Coast, the governing body for all local swim clubs.
In 2006, his Cypress Bay swim team won the state's high school boys championship.
SCREEN NAME TIP
The investigation began in August when America Online forwarded a tip to the BSO that a screen name registered to Caragol had sent an e-mail to several recipients with three child-porn images. Detectives interviewed Caragol at his home on Oct. 17. He confirmed that the screen name in question -- campos123 -- belonged to him, but he denied sending or receiving any illegal images, investigators said. Caragol voluntarily gave detectives his laptop computer to search.
Investigators said they found about 40 images of underage boys engaged in sexual activity.
On Tuesday, an FBI agent interviewed Caragol at a BSO substation, where Caragol admitted using his computer to send and receive hundreds of images of young boys, according to the complaint.
''Caragol also admitted that he had engaged in sexual activity with children under the age of 18 dating back to 2001,'' Special Agent Alexis Carpinteri wrote in the complaint. ``However, he stated that he was not presently engaging in sexual activity with minors.''
Caragol will remain in custody until a bond hearing Monday morning. He does not yet have a private attorney, records show.
