Coach arranged to meet ‘teen’ for sex acts in FL, then a cop showed up, feds say
A Little League coach arranged to meet up with a 13-year-old girl for sex acts, but the “girl” was an undercover sheriff’s deputy and the coach is now headed to prison, federal prosecutors in Florida said.
Joseph Rocco Quaranta, 48, from Dunnellon, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a lifetime of supervised release, in connection with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in an April 1 news release.
Quaranta pleaded guilty in November, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney April 2 and was awaiting a response.
Quaranta is accused of engaging “in a sexually explicit conversation” with the deputy, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, and arranging to meet “to engage in sexual activity,” prosecutors said.
Quaranta was arrested after he showed up at the meeting place, according to prosecutors.
Quaranta responded to a post an undercover deputy made on an escort website purporting to be a girl named Stevie, an affidavit said.
The post identified Stevie as 19 years old, but in conversation with Quaranta, “Stevie” said she was 13 more than once, according to the affidavit.
Quaranta’s sentencing “serves as a reminder that predatory action against children will not be tolerated, and we will use every resource at our disposal to ensure that justice is served,” David Pezzutti, an official with Homeland Security Investigations, said in the news release.
Dunnellon is about a 85-mile drive northwest from Orlando.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Coach arranged to meet ‘teen’ for sex acts in FL, then a cop showed up, feds say."
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