Youth basketball coach is arrested for molesting children at sleepovers and offering $5,000 each to buy them after forcing teen to film chilling video message to his parents

A Florida youth basketball coach has been arrested over allegations he molested children and offered their parents $5,000 each to buy them. 

Carl Philip Lombardo, 58, a volunteer coach in Ocala, was taken into custody last week by the Marion County Sheriff's Office following an investigation that began when parents claimed he refused to return their 15-year-old from a sleepover on August 31.

Lombardo had returned the teenager's siblings to their parents earlier that day, and allegedly sent the boy's parents a chilling video showing the child pretending to write a letter saying he wanted to stay with Lombardo.

'He states, "I'm writing this letter... because..." then becomes emotional,' the video showed, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today. 

'He drops his head and he cries, and the suspect can be heard on the other side of the camera... saying "stop crying, just do it!"' 

When the boy's parents later said they were going to contact law enforcement, the former coach said he was not concerned because he 'works with schools and his reputation is spotless,' according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. 

The teenager was eventually returned safely to his parents, but the incident had sparked a criminal investigation into Lombardo's actions, during which several children told police he inappropriately touched them and took naked photos of them.

Then when deputies later made contact with Lombardo, the suspect allegedly admitted he tried to buy children from their parents for $5,000 each and turned over two cellphones to police - which they said contained numerous photos of Lombardo cuddling with children, pictures of their feet and other child sexual abuse material.

The coach would later admit to officers that at least one of the pictures on his cellphone depicted one of the juvenile victims, but offered 'contradicting statements about why the juveniles would disclose sexual abuse, the presence of [child pornography] on his phones, and his claims that he was trying to “save” the children from abuse,' authorities said.

Deputies now allege that Lombardo used his position as a youth basketball coach to gain the trust of his victims' families to hold sleepovers at his Ocala home multiple times.

Lombardo would also allegedly coerce the children through gifts, isolation and threats. 

'He developed a pattern of keeping the children for multiple-day stays, during which he molested two of the juvenile victims, exposed himself to the children and photographed them inappropriately,' the Sheriff's Office claims.

'The short story here is Mr. Lombardo is an absolute predator,' Lt. Paul Bloom told WESH.

Neighbors have also called him 'strange' and said something always seemed off about the 59 year old who lived alone.

'You could feel the vibe off him,' Vanessa Velez told WCJB. 'My husband from day one said it - he seems like a creep.'

Richard Foster, another neighbor, noted that he would see children at Lombardo's house at all hours of the day.

'We leave at five in the morning for work and come home at five in the afternoon, and they're out there at give in the morning, and they're out there at five in the afternoon when we come home,' he said. 'It's just very odd, very strange.'

Velez also mentioned previously seeing children leave Lombardo's house in tears.

'Kids come out crying and then my kids would ask them "Are you guys OK? Everything OK?"' she recounted.

She said the children would then respond, 'Yeah, yeah, and then just keep on walking.

'But it was concerning because he was not married and he does not have children of his own,' she said of Lombardo.

The former coach is now facing charges of human trafficking of a child for commercial sexual activity, interference with child custody, lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years of age, lewd and lascivious exhibition and two counts each of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. 

But authorities have said they believe there may be other victims 'due to the nature of these crimes, Lombardo’s former position as a children’s basketball coach, and his obvious predatory nature using elements of isolation and control,' and are asking victims to come forward as Lombardo is held without bond.