Joseph Garofalo, a 21-year-old former assistant lacrosse coach at Valley Stream Central High School, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child after he blackmailed dozens of minors into sending him sexually explicit photos, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the state’s Eastern District announced on Thursday, Feb. 5.
When sentenced, Garofalo faces a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, according to the attorney’s office.
He was previously denied bail after pleading not guilty to “sextorting” at least 30 boys, including a 13-year-old.
Garofalo’s actions were brought to the attention of the FBI when his then 13-year-old victim’s mother sent a tip to the agency, according to court documents. The mother told law enforcement that her son was a victim of “sextortion” from an unknown Snapchat account.
Court documents said the Snapchat account was later traced back to Garofalo based on matching email and IP addresses. The IP addresses tracked matched Garofalo’s home address as well as a high school and a university associated with him, documents said.
The teen informed Garofalo that he was 13 and afterwards sent sexually explicit photos and videos, which included his face, court documents said.
In a court transcript of a conversation between Garofalo and a minor via Snapchat, Garofalo wrote that he had saved and shared the photos with others and would not delete them unless he received more photos from the teenager.
When the teen said he wouldn’t send him any explicit photos of his friends, Garofalo replied, “Welp then I’m not deleting,” court documents said.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Garofalo’s home on April 18, 2025, where he admitted that he controlled the social media account that solicited CSAM from minors, solicited minors for CSAM and had CSAM on his electronic devices, according to the attorney’s office.
During the course of the investigation, the FBI seized electronic devices and recovered electronic evidence from social media platforms that contained evidence regarding approximately 30 minor victims, the attorney’s office said.
According to previous reports, Valley Stream Superintendent Wayne Loper sent a letter to parents and staff that clarified that none of the alleged victims were Valley Stream Central High School students. In the letter, he reportedly referred to Garofalo as the “former lacrosse coach.”
