Joseph Diaz, formerly the head age group coach of the Makos Aquatic Club in Gainesville, Florida, was arrested on Thursday by the Gainesville Police Department. Diaz was arrested and booked on Thursday afternoon, April 24th, in Alachua County, Florida, according to court records. The arrest came on the same day as a warrant was issued.
Though given the late arrest time, it’s unlikely that Diaz will be arraigned until Friday or Monday, there are two charges pending against him.
“USA Swimming first learned of the arrest of Joseph Diaz today,” the organization said through a spokesperson. “We had no prior knowledge of any inappropriate behavior but we are looking into the matter. USA Swimming is deeply committed to the safety and welfare of all its members. It is the mission of the Safe Sport Program to increase awareness to reduce the risk for abuse in sport and our organization has no tolerance for violations of our Code of Conduct.”
The first charge relates to Florida statute 827.071(5) which is a Third Degree Felony. This statute relates specifically to the possession of child pornography of a child under the age of 18.
The second charge is under section 827.071(3), which involves ‘promoting a sexual performance by a child when, knowing the character and content thereof, he or she produces, directs, or promotes any performances which includes sexual conduct by a child less than 18 years of age.”
To read the full statues under which Diaz has been charged, see the online documents here.
Diaz’s bio has been removed from the Makos Aquatics Club of Gainesville’s website on Thursday night; however, a cached version of that site from April 19th, 2014 says that Diaz coached the “Platinum Sharks” group and had been with the team for 6 years. The ‘Platinum Sharks’ group is described on the team’s website as being for swimmers aged 10 & up, and for “more advanced swimmers who plan to swim competitively.”
Diaz is an ASCA Level 3 certified coach, and is a 2004 graduate of the University of Florida, which is also located in Gainesville. According to his bio, he swam for one year as an age group swimmer for Cecil Russell, who would later be suspended for life (reduced to three years) by Swimming Canada on drug-related convictions.
A request for comment from the Makos Aquatic Club was not immediately returned late Thursday. No phone number was listed for a Joseph Diaz fitting the arrested’s description in the Gainesville, Florida area.
