A former New York-based diving coach has been sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for sex trafficking underage girls, the United States Department of Justice announced Friday.
Victor Byrne, 58, received a 220-month sentence for transporting two minors across state lines for illegal sexual activity in 2006 and 2008. He was a diving coach in Rockland County, N.Y., from 2001 through (at least) 2009, according to the DOJ.
U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Roman handed down the sentence following Byrne’s guilty plea on March 14, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Victor Byrne used his position as a diving coach to sexually exploit young athletes. Byrne’s conduct is the nightmare of every parent who entrusts their child to a coach. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that the passage of years will not prevent us from holding child predators accountable for their conduct.”
Byrne was initially arrested in August 2022.
According to case documents, around July 2006, Byrne transported a 16-year-old minor (Victim-1) from Cape Cod, Mass., to Rockland County, N.Y., and once in New York, engaged in illegal sexual activity.
Around February 2008, Byrne arranged for another victim, a 16-year-old minor (Victim-2), to be transported from New Jersey to Rockland, and engaged in illegal sexual activity.
Byrne “coached several teams of youth divers in and around Rockland County,” authorities said.
Byrne began abusing Victim-1 when she was 14 years old and Victim-2 when she was 16. Byrne “falsely held himself out as a police officer” to gain the trust of his victims and their families, according to the DOJ.
On top of his prison term, Byrne was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
The investigation was a collective effort from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshal Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the New York City Police Department Special Victims Unit assigned to the HSI Human Trafficking Task Force. Authorities noted that the investigation remains ongoing, suggesting further aspects of Byrne’s abuse may still be uncovered.
