A Miami-Dade volleyball coach was arrested for allegedly molesting a teen girl, and police said they’re looking for more potential victims.
A Miami-Dade volleyball coach was arrested for allegedly molesting a teen girl, and police said they're looking for more potential victims.
Carlos Cruz Concepción, 31, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child between 12 and 16, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the alleged incidents happened in 2023 when Concepción was the volleyball coach at Bridge Prep Academy of Village Green.
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The alleged victim, a 15-year-old girl who was 14 at the time, said Concepción inappropriately touched her genital area over her clothing on several occasions while he was her coach.
The alleged incidents happened during practice, police said.
Concepción was later fired from the school for sending inappropriate messages to underage students, police said. The messaging incidents weren't reported to police, though it's unclear if they would have been considered criminal, officials said.
He was interviewed by investigators and arrested before he was booked into jail. Police said he told investigators it was an accident.
Investigators learned Concepción is currently a volleyball coach at Divine Savior Academy and 305 Volleyball.
In a news release Thursday, 305 Volleyball club director Alan Obrador said they were "stunned" to learn of the arrest but said Concepción no longer works for 305 Volleyball or Divine Savior Academy.
"We will be meeting with the parents of his team to check if any girl has any issues or something to say about Mr. Cruz behavior while at the club," the release said.
Obrador said Concepción passed three background checks to be eligible to coach and had no prior criminal record.
Concepción appeared before a judge on Thursday, who granted him a $7,500 bond but ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim and have no unsupervised visits with any children.
Police said detectives are looking into whether there could be more victims and are asking anyone with information to call them at 305-715-3300.
"Unfortunately this subject worked at a place where we send our kids off and we expect them to be safe, and they confide into coaches or teachers at the school," Miami-Dade Police Det. Dorneisha Mallary said. "So any parents, if you've have any kids that attended Bridge Prep Academy, Divine Savior Academy or the 305 Volleyball team, speak with your kids, see if they had any inappropriate interactions with this subject."
