Man charged with molesting teen while working as Miami-Dade volleyball coach, police say
MIAMI - A man has been arrested this week for allegedly fondling a teenage girl during his time as a Miami-Dade County school's volleyball coach, police said.
Carlos Ismel Cruz Concepcion, 31, was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a child between 12 and 16 years old, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced Thursday.
According to investigators, the 16-year-old victim told police that Concepcion, who was her volleyball coach at Bridge Prep Academy of Village Green, inappropriately touched her over her clothing on several occasions in 2023 while at school, the arrest document said.
During the investigation, detectives learned that while he was a coach at the same school, Concepcion was fired for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to underage students and that he currently works as a volleyball coach at Divine Savior Academy and 305 Volleyball.
On Wednesday, Concepcion was called into Miami-Dade Police's Special Victims Bureau for questioning. After being told his Miranda rights, he told police that he didn't touch the girl intentionally but if he did "it was accidental," the arrest document said. Concepcion was then arrested and taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without incident.
Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found probable cause for the charges and ordered Concepcion to stay away from the victim and to have no supervised contact with minor children.
Glazer set bond at $7,500 for the second-degree felony of molesting a child between the ages of 12 and 16.
Detective Dorenisha Mallary of the Miami-Dade Police Special Victims Unit said, "He took pictures of her in her underwear. She was 14 at the time. He was fired from the school due to sending inappropriate text messages to other students. There could be other victims which is why we are reaching out to the community."
CBS News Miami tried to find out how Concepcion could have been hired by the Divine Savior Academy after he was fired from his previous job but were told there would be no comment.
At the Academy, Glenda Garrido, who was two students there in the school, said, "As a parent you are concerned because all my children have been in sports. My son is in sports in the school at the moment."
"It is concerning because you want them safe. You want them in a place where coaches and teachers are interested in their safety. I applaud the girl for coming forward because in a lot of cases, some teenagers do not want to come out and say what happened."
Nicole Yepez, whose sister attends the Academy said, "I think the girl showed a lot of strength. I feel really bad about what happened to her. I appreciate her coming forward and she did do a good thing."
Miami-Dade Police detectives are looking for more victims and further information on the case. If anyone knows anything, they are asked to call (305) 715-3300.