The Franklin soccer coach who has been charged with rape and sexual exploitation of a minor is an illegal alien, according to new reports.
WZTV reported Wednesday that Camilo Hurtado Campos was unlawfully present in the United States and that he has been here illegally for at least 20 years.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reacted to the news Wednesday evening.
“Today we learned that the Tennessee soccer coach charged with assaulting and brutally raping several young children is an illegal alien,” she said. “The sexual abuse of children is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, and my heart breaks for the victims and their families.”
This outrageous tragedy is further evidence that we need to build the wall now. Until our border is secured, every town is a border town, and criminals will continue to have free reign throughout the nation.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 12, 2023
“This outrageous tragedy is further evidence that we need to build the wall now,” Blackburn said. “Until our border is secured, every town is a border town, and criminals will continue to have free reign throughout the nation.”
Though the name of the team or teams that Campos (pictured above) may have coached remains unknown, the Williamson County Soccer Association has confirmed that Campos never coached any of their teams.
Initially, the Franklin Police Department (FPD) said Campos hung around Franklin-area soccer fields, befriending players.
“The 63-year-old soccer coach has lived in Franklin for the last 20 years, with that time split between two neighborhoods: Hill Estates and, most recently, on Glass Lane in the downtown Franklin area,” the police department said. “During off-hours, Campos frequented nearby school playgrounds in both neighborhoods where he approached kids and recruited them as players on his team. After gaining their trust, Campos invited many of the kids to his home where he drugged and then raped them.”
Wednesday, it was reported that five new victims of Campos’ have come forward, adding to the two victims who were first identified by FPD.
FPD Public Information Officer Lt. Charles Warner told The Tennessee Star earlier this week that he is asking any member of the public who believes that they have played soccer for Campos, or parents of children who may have played soccer for him, to come forward with information.
Campos left his phone in a local restaurant where, in an attempt to identify who the phone belonged to, an employee scrolled through the images, finding horrifying videos and images of Campos allegedly raping boys, mostly between the ages of nine and 17.
FPD said many of the victims were unconscious during the sexual abuse and might not know they have been abused.
Authorities also said that Campos acknowledged that the phone and its contents belonged to him.
Campos is currently being held on charges of rape of a child and sexual exploitation of a minor, and police anticipate many more charges will be filed.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
