A Florida man, who served as a little league baseball coach in Dunnellon, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Joseph Rocco Quaranta, 48, was convicted of attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity. The sentencing, handed down on April 1, came after an investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Quaranta had entered a guilty plea on November 19, 2024. The situation arose when, on July 25, 2024, Quaranta engaged online with an undercover detective from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The detective was posing as a 13-year-old girl. Quaranta continued a sexually explicit dialogue even after becoming aware of the girl's stated age and arranged to meet her for sexual purposes in Marion County. Upon arrival at the set location, rather than meeting the minor, Quaranta was arrested by law enforcement officers. He subsequently admitted to the officers that he volunteered as a local little league 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,” stated David Pezzutti, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Orlando. Pezzutti acknowledged the collaboration with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in their endeavor to safeguard children from exploitative individuals.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
