Middle District of Florida | Marion County Little League coach charged with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unveiling of an indictment charging Joseph Rocco Quaranta (48, Dunnellon) with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. If convicted, Quaranta faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Quaranta is currently being held pending the resolution of his case.

According to court documents, on July 25, 2024, an undercover Marion County Sheriff’s Office detective posed as a 13-year-old girl online. Quaranta contacted the undercover detective and after learning the minor’s age, she engaged in a sexually explicit conversation. Quaranta arranged to meet the minor at a predetermined location in Marion County to engage in sexual activity. He arrived at the meeting location and was arrested by police shortly afterwards. After his arrest, Quaranta told officers he was volunteering to be a local Little League baseball coach.

An indictment is merely a formal allegation that a suspect has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and each suspect is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Chiefland Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

The case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood uses federal, state, and local resources to identify, arrest, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to help victims identify and rescue. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.