A Floridian youth basketball coach has been arrested and taken into custody after reportedly abusing children who he then tried to buy from parents.
58-year-old Carl Lombardo sparked investigation on Aug. 31 when he refused to return a 15-year-old to parents after the child had slept over at his house at Spring Lake Place in Ocala. Parents received a video of their child appearing to write a note stating that he did not want to return to them and instead wished to remain with Lombardo, after which they called police.
Further investigation of Lombardo's phone revealed videos of the coach coercing the boy into writing the letter to deputies, including footage where Lombardo can be heard saying "Stop crying, just do it." It also revealed child porn images, evidently taken by Lombardo, photos in which the volunteer basketball coach can be seen cuddling with the children and even pictures of their feet.
The siblings of the 15-year-old boy, who had also slept over at Lombardo's house that night, had been permitted to leave. The Marion County Sheriff's Office alleged that Lombardo had touched them inappropriately and taken nude photos of them.
Investigators were told that Lombardo then reportedly offered the parents $5,000 for each of the children.
According to deputies, Lombardo leveraged his position of authority to gain the trust of the family, and subsequently "gain access and control over the child victims and engaged in a pattern over a period of two years to slowly normalize the behaviors he was engaging in."
"Lombardo stated he was not concerned [about being reported to law enforcement] because he works with the schools and his reputation is spotless," deputies said.
The 58-year-old was arrested and charged with 9 felonies, with charges including sex trafficking of a child, molestation of a child under the age of 16, production of child porn and possession of child porn.
"You could feel the vibe off him. My husband from day one said it – he seems like a creep," said neighbor Vanessa Velez to WCJB.
"Kids come out [of his house] crying, and then my kids would ask them, 'Are you guys OK? Everything OK?' Kids [respond] 'Yeah, yeah,' and they just kept on walking. But it was concerning because he is not married and he does not have children of his own," Velez continued.
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