BK Soccer Coach Who Sexually Abused Boy On Team Sentenced: DA

MIDWOOD, BROOKLYN — A former Brooklyn soccer coach is heading to jail after he pleaded guilty to molesting one of his 9-year-old charges and a teenaged relative, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Pablo Pineda, 41, was sentenced to four years in prison and five years supervision Wednesday after pleading guilty to sexual conduct against a child in Brooklyn Criminal court earlier this month, prosecutors said.

"This defendant molested a boy on his team and his own relative who both had every expectation to believe they would be safe with him," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “This defendant’s actions are an upsetting and shocking betrayal of trust "

Pineda, of The Bronx, began molesting a 9-year-old boy in a Friends Field bathroom near East 4th Street and Avenue L after soccer practice in July 2017, prosecutors said.

The abuse — which included exposing the child to pornography — continued through April 27, 2018, when the boy was 10, prosecutors said.

The boy's mom eventually found text messages on the boy's cellphone — directing him to come out to the movies without telling her — and contacted police on June 20, 2018, said prosecutors.

Pineda was arrested the next day, prosecutors said.

Investigators later discovered evidence suggesting Pineda molested a teenage relative between May and June 2018 and that he was supposed to have registered as a sex offender following a 2005 child sex abuse conviction in Texas, said prosecutors.

Pineda pleaded guilty to sexual conduct against a child, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, and failure to register as a sex offender on Sept. 10, 2019, prosecutors said.