Kreg Costa. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)
A Florida police officer, who is also a youth football coach, has been arrested on more than two dozen child pornography and illicit sexual conduct charges, his department says.
Sergeant Kreg Costa, 43, is accused of exchanging “sexually explicit” messages and videos with a 16-year-old girl through email and Twitter, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday in a press release.
The girl told investigators she told Costa was 15 when they first began communicating.
Costa, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office who has worked with the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in the past, has been suspended without pay.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Investigators Say He Was Watching Porn at Work & They Found ‘Semen-Splashed’ Photos in His Office
This press release details what @browardsheriff found during its investigation of their own sergeant Kreg Costa.
The investigation into Sergeant Kreg Costa by the Broward Sheriff Office’s Public Corruption Unit began in April, according to the press release.
Costa worked at the sheriff office’s Weston district as a road patrol supervisor. Other staff said they noticed he was “staying in his office during his night shift with the lights off and his uniform and gun belt removed.”
Detectives said they requested a computer usage report for his work-issued laptop and found that between January 1 to March 31 he was viewing hardcore, incest-related and bondage/dominance pornography websites in his office.
They also found “semen-splashed” photos of girls and evidence Costa had masturbated on the pictures while in a restroom at the Weston sheriff’s office station, according to an affidavit obtained by the Sun-Sentinel.
2. He Met the Girl on Twitter, Where He Used the Handle @CallMeSir34
VIDEO: @BrowardSheriff @ScottJIsrael holds news conference regarding BSO sergeant arrested on child porn charges. https://t.co/y95IeWmmVm
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) June 9, 2016
Detectives said after learning Costa had been viewing pornography at work, they began to monitor his internet activity covertly.
They “were able to identify a 16-year-old female victim Costa engaged in sexually explicit exchanges through emails, Twitter and videos. Costa instructed the California teenager to record herself while engaging in sex acts with herself.”
The girl told police she met Costa on Twitter and told him she was 15. He was using the now-deleted Twitter handle @CallMeSir34, police said.
3. He Has Been a Youth Football Coach for the Sunrise Gators
Kreg Costa was also a youth football coach. (Facebook)
In addition to being a police officer, Kreg Costa has volunteered as a youth football coach with the Sunrise Gators, according to the team’s Facebook page.
He is no longer listed as a coach on the team’s website.
Costa was formerly the club president, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
In August 2015, he talked about player safety with the newspaper.
“We have partnered up with USA football to instill the Heads Up tackling and blocking program to decrease injuries and the risk of concussions,” Costa said. “There are also hydration and cardiac arrest procedures that we review, so that safety is paramount with these kids.”
4. Costa Is Married & Has 4 Young Children
Costa, a resident of Sunrise, Florida, is married and has four young children.
“Every citizen accused is innocent until proven guilty, even a law enforcement officer,” his attorney, Daniel Aaronson, said in a statement to WPLG-TV. “We will diligently investigate and defend these serious charges and, based on what we know, believe he will be exonerated.”
5. He Is Being Held Without Bond on 29 Charges & Investigators Believe There Could Be More Victims
@browardsheriff Israel informs public about the arrest of Kreg Costa who is facing dozens of child porn charges.
Costa is being held without bond, the sheriff’s office says. He faces 29 charges.
The counts against Costa include use of a child in sexual performance, possession of material depicting the sexual performance by a child, lewd or lascivious battery, unlawful sexual activity with certain minors, soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using computer services or devices and transmission of material harmful to minors by electronic device or equipment.
Costa was suspended with pay on April 24 and relieved of his badge, identification and gun, while the investigation was underway. After he was arrested Thursday morning, while arriving at the office for a training class, he was suspended without pay.
Detectives say they believe there could be other victims. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Public Corruption Detective Jason Hendrick at 954-321-1100.
