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Volunteer Wrestling Coach Mikal Detoro, 44, was arrested April 30 on child solicitation charges. Parents of the boys he coached say schools said nothing for nearly six weeks. FL Volunteer Wrestling Coach Who Was Banned From Being Near Children Arrested in Child Sex Sting.
Detoro volunteered as a youth coach this past wrestling season at Wilkinson Junior High School and during Iron Forge Wrestling Academy, an afterschool program hosted at Ridgeview High School. He also has ties to Calvary Christian Church and its private school, Calvary Christian Academy.
Three mothers whose young teenage sons were coached by Mikal Detoro during the past wrestling season say that neither Wilkinson Junior High School nor Ridgeview High School — both in Clay County — ever told them about his arrest. Ginger Phillips, Cheyenne Evans, and Tawnya Darnell each learned the news only after media coverage of a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office undercover sting surfaced the arrest publicly. By that point, nearly six weeks had passed.
"That's almost a month and a half that I could have made contact and had conversations with my child to say, 'Were you involved in this? Did this happen to you? Did he make comments to you? Did he send you text messages?'" Darnell said.
Detoro was arrested April 30 as part of Operation Checklight, a JSO undercover operation targeting men soliciting children for sex acts. According to his arrest report, he drove to a pre-arranged location believing he was going to meet a 14-year-old boy. What investigators found inside his Jeep Wrangler alarmed authorities.
"Detectives discovered that his vehicle appeared equipped for child exploitation," Sheriff T.K. Waters said. "The seats of the Wrangler had been folded down, the interior was carpeted with blankets, and disturbingly, the interior of Detoro's vehicle was outfitted with multiple cameras." The arrest report also documents an undetermined number of SD cards and a tablet recovered from the vehicle.
During the season, the boys Detoro coached were 13 and 14 years old. Mothers say his conduct with their sons went far beyond normal coaching.
"This man was literally in contact with our children in this portable, wrestling with them, showing them moves, touching them, just doing these skin checks. It's disgusting," Darnell said.
"He would take them into the closet alone, down to their underwear, with their arms out to inspect their body," Evans said.
Evans also raised concern about Detoro's access to even younger children outside of the school program. "He teaches five to 12-year-olds in youth group wrestling, and that runs year-round. So, what about those parents?"
Phillips was equally pointed about how easily the arrest could have been discovered. "We found it in a few minutes. His arrest reports show that he was interested in young boys, and you have him wrestling with young boys."
Detoro's record of concerning conduct around minors stretches back nearly two decades. In 2008, he was arrested for allegedly grabbing a minor's arm and wrenching it behind his back without consent. When the child broke free, Detoro threw the victim's hat at him, striking him between the eyes. That same victim told authorities that Detoro "likes to put his hands on other boys that go to the school." He later pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with child custody after being caught in a closed park at 11:30 p.m. with two children — ages 13 and 14 — without their parents' knowledge. Authorities found sexual stimulation objects and male enhancement pills in his vehicle at that time.
A 2019 arrest warrant reveals he was placed on felony probation in April 2018, which expressly prohibited him from any contact with minors. He violated that probation by volunteering in various roles at Calvary Christian Church, which operates the attached Calvary Christian Academy. Court documents show he followed a 14-year-old boy to his car, placed the child in a headlock from behind, and did not release him until the victim's mother physically got out of the vehicle to confront him.
Despite that record, Detoro was allowed to volunteer with minors at Clay County schools this past season. The district, in a statement to Action News Jax, said he was never employed by Clay County District Schools and was never approved to serve as a coach — a designation that requires Level 2 fingerprinting through the FBI and local databases. Instead, he was registered only as a Level 1 volunteer, a status that, per district policy, requires that the individual never be left alone with students and must remain under the direct, constant supervision of a certified employee at all times. The district said Detoro is now permanently barred from all Clay County campuses and from volunteering in any capacity, and that it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.
Detoro currently remains in custody on a $1.5 million bond, facing charges of solicitation of a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct, travel to meet a minor after using a computer to lure a child, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Action News Jax reached out to Iron Forge Wrestling Academy, the afterschool program the mothers say Detoro also volunteered with, but had not received a response at time of publication. This is a developing story.
The factual information above was sourced from actionnewsjax.com as of June 23, 2026.
The attorney commentary below is not specifically about the case reported above. Attorney commentary provided is information about these types of cases in the justice system.
When news breaks that a youth wrestling coach has been arrested in a child sex sting, the criminal charges are only part of the story. For the families left behind — parents trying to process what happened, figure out what their children may have experienced, and decide what to do next — the legal landscape can feel overwhelming and unfamiliar. Civil law offers a separate path from the criminal courts, one that families can travel regardless of how the criminal case unfolds. To walk through what that path looks like, we spoke with Miami-based sexual abuse attorney Michael Haggard, who has spent decades representing survivors of institutional abuse in Florida, about the options available to families when a trusted figure in youth sports is accused of targeting children.
Editor Darla Medina: When a child is sexually abused by someone connected to a school program or sports organization, who can actually be held legally responsible beyond the individual who committed the abuse?
Attorney Michael Haggard: The abuser is obviously the primary wrongdoer, but Florida law allows victims to hold institutions accountable as well — schools, nonprofits, churches, sports organizations. If an institution knew or should have known that someone posed a risk to children and allowed that person access anyway, they can face significant civil liability. Negligent supervision and negligent hiring are the two most common claims we see in these cases.
Medina: What does "should have known" actually mean in a legal context? How far back can that go?
Haggard: It means that a reasonable background check, a reasonable review of public records, or even a basic internet search would have turned up red flags. If an organization skips those steps — or ignores what the records show — and a child is harmed as a result, that gap in oversight becomes the foundation of a civil case. Courts do not look kindly on institutions that cut corners when children are involved.
Medina: What about statutes of limitations? Many families don't come forward right away, especially when the victim is a child.
Haggard: Florida has made meaningful progress here. Under current law, survivors of childhood sexual abuse generally have until age 25 to file a civil lawsuit, and in some cases, that window can be extended further depending on when the survivor discovered the connection between the abuse and the harm they suffered. The clock does not necessarily start ticking the moment the abuse occurred. Families should not assume it is too late without first speaking to an attorney.
Medina: What should a parent do right now if they believe their child may have been victimized?
Haggard: Document everything immediately. Write down every detail your child shares, no matter how small it seems. Preserve any text messages, emails, or communications involving the accused. Report to law enforcement if you have not already done so, and then contact a civil attorney who handles sexual abuse cases. The civil and criminal processes are separate — a family can move forward with a civil claim regardless of where the criminal case stands. And most importantly, get your child into therapy with a professional who specializes in trauma. Healing has to come first.
Medina: Any final word for parents who may feel like taking on a school district or institution is simply too big a fight?
Haggard: These institutions have legal teams. But so do victims. No family should feel that they have to absorb this alone or that the institution holds all the power. The law exists precisely to hold organizations accountable when they fail to protect children. That accountability is how you prevent the next child from being harmed.
If your child was coached, trained, or supervised by someone who has since been arrested on charges involving the sexual exploitation of minors, the window to act matters — and so does who you have in your corner. The Legal Herald can connect you with an experienced sexual abuse attorney who handles exactly these cases, at no cost and with no obligation to move forward. One call is all it takes to understand where you stand, what your rights are, and what options are available to your family. Do not wait for the criminal case to play out before you explore what civil law can do for you and your child. Contact today for your free, no-obligation consultation.
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