Feds charge former Rockland County diving coach with sexually exploiting young athletes
A former Rockland County diving instructor was charged with sexually exploiting athletes as young as 14 years old in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Victor Byrne, 56, who now lives in Orlando, Fla., sexually abused two teenagers he coached on a team of competitive divers starting in 2006, federal prosecutors alleged.
“Victor Byrne allegedly used his position as a diving coach to sexually exploit young athletes,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
“This case illustrates that the passage of years will not prevent us from holding accountable those who prey on children.”
Byrne was charged with two counts of transporting a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity at his presentment in federal court in Orlando. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Baker remanded him to the Bureau of Prisons’ custody until his next court hearing.
One of the teen victims is now an NYPD officer and the other is a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, according to court documents. They are not named in the unsealed indictment.
Both victims were Byrne’s diving students and were allegedly subjected to years of repeated sexual abuse. He illegally brought one of them, who he started abusing when they were 14, from Cape Cod, Mass., to Rockland County in July 2006, according to the feds.
Two years later, in February 2008, Byrne took the other teen victim, who he started abusing at 16, to Rockland from New Jersey, according to the feds.
The Daily News could not reach Byrne’s attorney for comment. He is due back in court on Sept. 12 and will be prosecuted in White Plains.
The first count against Byrne carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years. If convicted of the second count, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum life sentence.
Federal authorities urge anyone with information about Byrne to contact the Homeland Security Investigations Tip Line at (866) 347-2423. Calls will be kept confidential.
