Youth basketball coach sentenced to 15 years for producing child sexual abuse material
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.S. District Court Judge Aida Delgado-Colon sentenced Angel Gabriel Diaz-Rosado, a youth basketball coach from Toa Baja, to 15 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested Diaz-Rosado in 2019 after he was charged with attempted production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of minors, and transfer of obscene material to a minor.
In March 2019, the Diaz-Rosado coached boys’ youth basketball. During that time, he used WhatsApp on his cellphone to communicate and request sexually explicit images of a 13-year-old boy he coached. Diaz-Rosado communicated with the boy in a sexually explicit manner, requesting images of the boy’s penis and videos of the boy masturbating. The child complied with Diaz-Rosado’s requests.
On June 20, Diaz-Rosado pleaded guilty to enticement and coercion of the 13-year-old boy.
“We must be vigilant and unwavering in our commitment to stop predators, especially the ones serving in public trust positions,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Gonzalez-Ramos. “This individual was a former basketball coach and a physical education teacher; we feel that justice was served with today’s sentence. HSI will continue its efforts to protect our children and will continue to collaborate with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and apprehend those who attempt to abuse them.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Child Exploitation and Immigration Unit Jenifer Y. Hernandez-Vega prosecuted the case.
“The actions of this individual in this case were nothing short of reprehensible,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow. “He shamefully targeted minors who were under his care. The U.S. attorney’s office remains committed to protecting children from abuse and holding accountable those individuals who would victimize minors.”
HSI led the investigation with help from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Department of Family.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit ice.gov/topics/iGuardians. To report suspicious activity, call 787-729-6969.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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