A high school coach at Celebration High School was arrested on Thursday by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office after being accused of sexual misconduct with female students on school property.
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Samuel Figueroa was arrested and is facing several charges, including lewd and lascivious molestation, lewd and lascivious conduct, sexual performance by a child, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, offenses against students by authority figures and indecent, lewd or lascivious touching of minors.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Special Crimes Unit said Figueroa worked full-time at Celebration High School in student services and was an assistant baseball coach and assistant girls’ basketball coach at the School.
According to the district, Figueroa began working with the district in August 2018 and resigned on March 27 after being removed from the campus once the investigation began.
Sheriff Lopez said Figueroa is accused of asking girls at the school for sexual photos and making disturbing sexual comments, as well as touching some of them.
Figueroa is accused of sexual activity with at least two teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 18, deputies said.
Deputies said the girls told them Figueroa made inappropriate remarks about their bodies, sent them inappropriate messages, touched two of them, and had at least one send him pictures without her clothes on.
Investigators said one of the girls’ parents found out about his conduct and contacted detectives.
“In Osceola County, we don’t play these games. We don’t tolerate this kind of behavior, and we will arrest you,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said.
Osceola County deputies are asking other potential victims to come forward and are looking into previous years while Figueroa was working at Celebration.
