Marion officials arrest man accused of abusing children and offering parents $5,000 each to keep them

MARION COUNTY, Florida. – A man arrested Wednesday in Marion County is accused of using his former position as a youth basketball coach to abuse children during sleepovers at his Silver Springs Shores home.

Carl Philip Lombardo, 58, is also accused of preventing one of the children from going home after a sleepover in August. He offered the children's parents money to “keep” them and forced the child to write a letter asking to stay with him, according to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Lombardo is charged with trafficking children for commercial purposes, failure to provide custody, lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim under the age of 12, lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, lewd and lascivious exposure, two counts of production of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography, the press release said.

Officers went to Lombardo's Spring Lake Place home on Aug. 31 after being told he had refused to release a 15-year-old to his parents. While arguing with the teen's parents at the time – and also during his questioning by detectives on Wednesday – Lombardo claimed he was trying to “save” the children from abuse, adding, “He was not concerned (about the parents' intention to call police) because he works with the schools and his reputation is spotless,” the release said.

While the teen was still at Lombardo's home, the 58-year-old forced him to appear in a video in which the teen pretended to write a message to his parents, officials said. Lombardo sent the video to the teen's parents, the release said. It appeared the teen was emotional and Lombardo was belittling her for her hesitation.

Officers responded and the teen was returned to his parents. At that point, Lombardo provided two of his cell phones for forensic examination. Several other children subsequently reported that Lombardo had touched them inappropriately and taken nude photos of them, the release said.

Analysis of Lombardo's cell phones revealed that he had taken photos depicting child sexual abuse as well as numerous pictures showing him cuddling with the children, the press release said.

During the course of his investigation, he discovered that Lombardo used his former position as the basketball coach of the juvenile victims' Boys and Girls Club to build trust and gain access to the children. He developed a pattern of keeping the children in his home for several days, during which he abused two of the juvenile victims, exposing himself to the children, and taking inappropriate photographs of them.

FORMER TRAINER ARRESTED FOR SEX OFFENSE WITH CHILDREN | Marion County Sheriff's Office, September 19, 2024 (excerpt)

Lombardo was arrested Wednesday after being questioned by a detective. He gave conflicting statements about why the victims mentioned sexual abuse and the presence of the photos on his cell phones. The 58-year-old confirmed that the images were of one of the victims and “that he had offered the children's parents $5,000 each to keep the images,” the release said. He was booked into the Marion County Jail, where he remains held without bail, according to records.

According to the release, investigators believe Lombardo may have abused other children as well. The sheriff's office urged anyone with information on other potential victims to contact investigators at 352-351-4710.

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