Little League Coach Sentenced To Ten Years For Attempting To Meet A 13-Year-Old Child To Engage In Sexual Activity

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Joseph Rocco Quaranta (48, Dunnellon) to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Quaranta entered a guilty plea on November 19, 2024.

According to court documents, on July 25, 2024, an undercover detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office posed online as a 13-year-old girl. Quaranta contacted the detective’s account and, after learning the child’s age, engaged in a sexually explicit conversation. Quaranta then arranged to meet the child at a predetermined location in Marion County to engage in sexual activity. When Quaranta arrived at the meeting location, he was arrested. After his arrest, Quaranta admitted to deputies that he had been volunteering as a local youth baseball coach. 

“The sentencing of this former Little League baseball coach 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,” said Homeland Security Investigations Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Pezzutti. “HSI, alongside our partners at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is unwavering in its commitment to protect our children from predators who seek to exploit them.”     

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.