A Florida High School Baseball Coach Avoided Jail Time and The Requirement to Register As a Sex Offender

 

A Florida high school baseball coach will not face additional jail time or be required to register as a sex offender after pleading no contest to child abuse and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Samuel Figueroa, 43, was accused of making inappropriate sexual comments to students and forcing them to take lewd photos of themselves. 

He was originally facing charges of lewd and lascivious molestation, sexual performance by a child, and offenses against students by authority figures, but those charges were dropped as part of a plea deal.

Figueroa was sentenced to 72 days in jail, which he has already served, and 10 years probation. He is also prohibited from working at a school and must stay at least 1,000 feet away from where children congregate.

The allegations against Figueroa came to light in March 2023 when a female student reported to authorities that he had asked her to send him photos of herself in a bikini. Another student later came forward, alleging that Figueroa had made sexual comments to her and grabbed her buttocks on multiple occasions.

Investigators also found evidence that Figueroa had forced two other students to take photos of themselves, including one incident in which he allegedly followed a student into a closet and remained there with her for several minutes.

At the time of Figueroa's arrest, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez called him a "sexual deviant" and said he deserved jail time.

The Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which prosecuted the case, has not commented on the plea agreement. Figueroa and his attorney declined to comment after the hearing.

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