A former Fort Lauderdale tennis coach, Daniel James Riggs, was sentenced on March 17 to 240 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to coercing and enticing two minors to engage in sexual activity.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian handed down the sentence to Riggs, age 33. The case involved Riggs using his position as a coach at Team Riggs in a Fort Lauderdale tennis center, where both victims were his students. According to court records, Riggs used multiple social media accounts to communicate with the minors and engaged them in sexually explicit conversations from approximately 2021 until his arrest in late 2024. Law enforcement identified several of these accounts through subscriber and billing records.
“Children and parents trust coaches with more than athletic instruction. They trust them with safety, guidance, and character,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant abused that trust in the most disturbing way imaginable, using his position to groom and sexually exploit the very students he was supposed to mentor. Twenty years in federal prison reflects the seriousness of that betrayal. The Southern District of Florida will continue to pursue predators who target children and ensure they face the full weight of the law.”
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. The FBI Miami investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Smith prosecuted it.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources.
Related court documents can be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida or through PACER under case number 25-cr-60038.
