Faced with more than a decade in prison, a sex-offending football coach called upon the family of his 14-year-old victim to ask a judge for mercy.
"He made a mistake, yes, but he's not a monster," the girl's father said, speaking on behalf of his wife and daughter. "He's not a rapist. He's not a sex offender. He fell in love with the wrong person. That's all."
Circuit Judge Sherri Collins disagreed. She sentenced 21-year-old Ruben Tirado, of West Palm Beach, to two years in prison, dashing the hopes of both Tirado and the girl he'd kissed, groped and sexually assaulted in the halls of Seminole Ridge High School.
"You were in a position of trust in a school," Collins told Tirado. "The fact that you chose to engage in sexual acts with an underage
child in the school is very concerning."
Girl told investigators she and coach were family friends
The Palm Beach County School District hired Tirado to work as a part-time assistant football coach in September 2025. According to court records, a dean at Seminole Ridge received an anonymous tip in November that a girl and a coach had been seen kissing on campus.
The dean reviewed security-camera footage and found multiple clips of Tirado and the student meeting in a first-floor hallway after school, at times appearing to look over their shoulder to check that they were alone. Prosecutors said the footage showed Tirado kissing the girl, fondling her and, in two instances, exposing himself and assaulting her orally.
Investigators interviewed the girl in November. She said Tirado coached her travel girls football team, separate from the school's team, and that her family and his had been friends for years. According to the girl, she and Tirado had expressed feelings for one another three months prior and "decided it was best to keep a quiet relationship."
They met after school several times a week, she said, breaking apart from one another at the sound of approaching passersby.
According to court records, the teen and her parents told the State Attorney's Office they didn't wish to prosecute. Prosecutors nevertheless charged Tirado in November with two counts of lewd battery and one count of offense against a student by an authority figure.
Tirado pleaded guilty to all charges in May without first negotiating a deal with prosecutors, hoping to persuade Collins to spare him from prison entirely.
Defense attorney Tyler DiMaio argued Monday that the relationship between the student and coach was, "by all accounts, considered to be a dating relationship." He added that the girl "was very close to turning 15" and that Tirado had only just turned 20, suggesting that a "19-15 split" was a more accurate characterization of their age difference.
Under Florida law, the age of consent is 18.
DiMaio urged Collins to sentence Tirado to probation and spare him a felony conviction, arguing that the mandatory sex-offender label Tirado earned when he pleaded guilty was a "lifelong sentence" in itself. In addition to the teen's father, DiMaio called upon Tirado's parents — both of whom are paralegals — to plead for leniency.
"I'm asking the court, as a father: Please give my son a chance to have a future," Alex Tirado said. "Please do not let this one bad chapter of Ruben's life define the entirety of his life."
Prosecutor: Coach's crime was 'more than bad judgment'
Dr. Sheila Rapa, a psychologist who evaluated Tirado, said she doubts he'll ever commit another sex offense. She recommended Collins sentence him to outpatient treatment, calling Tirado "a very, very good man with a good heart."
Assistant State Attorney Amanda McCabe pushed back, reminding the judge that surveillance video showed Tirado repeatedly checking the hallway to avoid being seen.
"This evidenced more than bad judgment," the prosecutor said.
Collins agreed, though she didn't adopt McCabe's recommended penalty of 13 years in prison. Persuaded in part by Tirado's youth, she instead ordered two years in prison, followed by four years of sex-offender probation. Collins also forbade Tirado from contacting the student.
The young man didn't say anything in response, though he'd promised earlier to do whatever it takes "to prove that I can learn from this."
"I genuinely, genuinely regret my actions, the pain and stress that have caused all of you," he'd said, addressing the teen. "You and your family never deserved to be put through this. I'm so sorry I let your family down."
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge ignores teen's plea to spare her sex-offending coach from prison
