A high school baseball coach in Florida accused of making inappropriate sexual comments and forcing students to take lewd photos of themselves in the bathroom will avoid additional jail time and will not have to register as a sex offender as part of a plea deal, records show.
Samuel Figueroa, 43, on Monday pleaded no contest to child abuse and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Figueroa, a student services coordinator and baseball coach at Celebration High School in Central Florida, had faced other charges such as lewd and lascivious molestation, sexual performance by a child and offenses against students by authority figures, but they were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. He was sentenced to 72 days in jail, which he already served, and 10 years probation. He also has a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and must ask permission to leave the state, according to records.
Figueroa cannot work at a school and must stay at least 1,000 feet from where children congregate, the plea deal said.
The investigation began March 9 when a female student told authorities that Figueroa had her send photos to him of her in a bikini, however, officials determined it did not rise to the level of a crime. But another student came forward a couple of weeks later saying Figueroa allegedly made sexual comments such as “your body looks so amazing in those pants” starting when she was 15 and also grabbed her buttocks on at least four occasions. He also told the girl he was sexually aroused by her, a probable cause arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime says.
Samuel Figueroa, center, is accused of having students take lewd photos of themselves, at the high school in Florida where he worked as a baseball coach. He pleaded no contest on Monday and will avoid sex offender status and additional jail time. (Osceola County Sheriff’s Office)
Figueroa had the girl take photos of herself in her underwear, she told detectives. Investigators allegedly found a photo on his phone of the girl in her bra while inside the bathroom in the nurse’s office at the school.
Yet another girl, who was 17 at the time, accused Figueroa of forcing her to take photos of herself. Surveillance video showed Figueroa following the girl into a closet where they remained for several minutes. After they walk out, he is allegedly seen handing the girl a cellphone before she walks into the bathroom by herself. She said the two developed a close relationship and then he started to ask for racy photographs of her, the affidavit said. He allegedly would give her his cellphone and tell her to go to the bathroom to take the photos.
The girl said she felt compelled to do what he asked because he was in control of the hallway passes that would allow students to get back into class. He also would become angry if she didn’t take the pictures, the affidavit said. She told investigators she would “be in the bathroom almost everyday crying” because of Figueroa’s alleged actions. Investigators also discovered the girl had emailed Figueroa several provocative photos of herself in bed, though none of them were nude, the affidavit said. Once he allegedly responded, “very nice, do I get any more?”
At the time of Figueroa’s arrest, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Figueroa deserved jail time.
“He has abused his power, he has abused his position, he is a sexual deviant who’s lurking in our schools,” Lopez said. “Thanks to the brave students who have come forward and exposed him for the monster that he is.”
The Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which prosecuted the case, released a statement to Law&Crime explaining why they reached a plea agreement with Figueroa.
“With every case, we make an effort to consult with the victims and their families to help us determine the best way to move forward. In these particular cases, the victims and their families wanted to avoid going through depositions and trials. The plea agreement allows the victims to avoid reliving the trauma while ensuring the defendant is listed as a convicted child abuser who is prohibited from visiting schools and other places where children congregate. The charges the defendant pled to did not score any jail time according to the Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet. If the defendant violates the terms of his probation he will be subjected to prison.”
The sheriff’s office has not commented on the plea agreement. Figueroa and his attorney declined to comment after the hearing, according to ABC affiliate WFTV.
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