Roberto Caragol - Child Molesting Swim Coach BUSTED

During an interview, Caragol told agents he has had sexual encounters
with underage boys since 2001

An award-winning swim coach at a prestigious Broward County school has been arrested on child pornography charges.

According to the office of U.S. State Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, 35-year-old Roberto Caragol, an assistant swim coach at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, has been charged with possessing child pornography.

Authorities said America Online gave law enforcement officials a tip that Caragol allegedly distributed child pornography on the Web.

When the Broward Sheriff's Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers examined Caragol's computer, the state attorney's office said, they found 40 pornographic images of boys under 18 years old.

Investigators said Caragol not only admitted to sending and receiving the pornographic images but that he also confessed to having sex with underage children

In a statement released Wednesday, the Pine Crest School said that Caragol was placed on administrative suspension.

"This is a difficult time for all of us at Pine Crest School. We have taken great care in responding to this situation and communicating with students, faculty and families," the statement said. "We are fully committed to providing a secure and safe environment for every member of our school community."

Students and parents at the school heard about the charges on Wednesday morning, after Caragol appeared before a federal judge.

"I didn't know he was capable of doing something like this," said Jessica Kazmin, who is on the school's swim team.

Kazmin said she had no idea Caragol had been under investigation for several months by BSO and federal agents.

"He was just our coach. He was just another part of the Pine Crest swimming family. We never assumed anything," Kazmin said.

Students at Pine Crest said the swim team was shocked when they read the news on the Internet on Wednesday.

"They were looking at it and the proctor let them use the main computer, so word spread pretty quickly. Everybody was checking it out on the Internet. It was pretty nuts," said student Wyatt Zeller.

Before he worked for Pine Crest, Caragol coached at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, where he guided the boys' swim team to a state championship in 2006.

Investigators said they want to know if Caragol might have victimized any of his former students or swim team members. They said anyone with information should contact the Broward Sheriff's Office or the U.S. Attorney General's Office in Fort Lauderdale.