Nov 20, 2008 10:55 pm US/Eastern
Broward Swim Coach Fired After Child Porn Charges
Investigators Found Child Pornography On Computer
He Allegedly Admitted To Having Sex With Minors
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
If you swim on a team in South Florida, chances are you've heard the name of Robert Caragol, before his arrest Wednesday on child porn charges and an alleged admission that he had sex with minors. The school that hired him to coach their swim team has fired him.
He led the prestigious Pine Crest boys team to a second place state championship. Caragol coached youth teams in Miami and Plantation.
Skip and Andrea Long know Caragol, and say they are disheartened by the news. He coached their 14-year-old son. They say they had no idea Caragol kept a dark secret.
"For kids to reach the next level, you have to have great coaching," said Skip Long. "His ability to have the skills to do that professionally has been great."
"Unfortunately we hear about these more and more, so we try to communicate with our son," said Andrea Long. "So if there is the slightest thing he feels uncomfortable about, he will come to us and let us know."
Experts on predator behavior say open communication with your children at every age is the key.
"We know that significant harm can come to children from people with whom the family is very familiar," said Todd De Angelis, from A Child is Missing organization. "There are things like creating a secret code word with your child, teaching them to say no in an empowering way."
Caragol has been fired from Pine Crest School, and dismissed from his position as Chairman of the Florida Gold Coast, the governing body for all local swim clubs.
Christopher Anderson says their job now is to restore parent trust.
"Our hearts go out to our membership," said Gold Coast's Christopher Anderson. "We will build back and hopefully this won't happen again in the future."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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