Coach accused of offering $5,000 to buy children from parents, refusing to return kids

Police arrested a youth basketball coach in Florida after they said he did not want to return a child to his parents after the child stayed at his home for a sleepover.

Carl Philip Lombardo, 59, was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office last week at his residence in Ocala, Florida. He is accused of offering parents $5,000 for each of their children as well as nine charges ranging from possession of child pornography to sexual abuse.

On Aug 31. authorities responded to Lombardo's house after the parent of a 15-year-old child said Lombardo refused to return their child after a sleepover. Following this incident, an investigation was started into Lombardo, according to an arrest warrant obtained by USA TODAY.

Lombardo sent the child's parents a video of the child pretending to write a note saying they wanted to stay with him, the affidavit says.

“He states ‘I’m writing this letter… because…’ then becomes emotional. He drops his head as he cries and the suspect can be heard on the other side of the camera can be heard saying ‘stop crying, just do it!’” the arrest affidavit said.

Investigation into Lombardo finds alleged abuse

When deputies made contact with Lombardo, he admitted to authorities that he tried to buy the children from their parents for $5,000. 

As part of the investigation into Lombardo, several children told police that he had inappropriately touched them and taken naked photos of them. The arrest affidavit says that Lombardo turned over two of his cellphones to police.

These contained numerous pictures of Lombardo cuddling with the children, pictures of their feet as well as other child sexual abuse material.

In a Facebook post from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, investigators said Lombardo used his position as a basketball coach to gain the trust of victims' families and be able to hold these sleepovers multiple times.

“He developed a pattern of keeping the children at his home for multiple-day stays, during which he molested two of the juvenile victims, exposed himself to the children, and photographed them inappropriately,” the sheriff’s office said.

Lombardo was booked into the Marion County Jail with no bond. USA TODAY was not immediately able to contact Lombardo’s lawyer for comment.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.