A little over two months after being nabbed in an online child sex sting operation led by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, a local Little League baseball coach has been indicted for allegedly attempting to entice a 13-year-old girl to have sex with him.
On Tuesday, October 8, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the unsealing of an indictment charging 48-year-old Dunnellon resident Joseph Rocco Quaranta with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to court documents, on July 25, 2024, an undercover MCSO detective posed online as a 13-year-old girl. Quaranta allegedly contacted the undercover detective and began engaging in a “sexually explicit conversation” after “learning the minor’s age.”
The indictment alleges that Quaranta then made arrangements to meet the minor at a predetermined location in Marion County in order to have sex with her. Shortly after arriving at this location, Quaranta was met by law enforcement officers and placed under arrest.
After being arrested, Quaranta told MCSO deputies that he was volunteering as a Marion County Little League baseball coach.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
If Quaranta is convicted, he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. He is currently being detained at Marion County Jail pending the resolution of his case.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Ocala Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Chiefland Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The case against Quaranta will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
Additionally, this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May of 2006 by the Department of Justice, this nationwide initiative aims to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.