Jury Finds Athletic Trainer Guilty of Sex Crimes Against Children

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Julio Acosta-Morgado guilty of two counts of Custodial Sexual Battery; two counts Lewd or Lascivious Molestation; and one count Lewd or Lascivious Conduct. With the verdict, Acosta-Morgado faces up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable London Kite will sentence Acosta-Morgado at a later date.

On Nov. 14, 2023, a 13-year-old victim reported the ongoing sexual abuse by his athletic trainer —Acosta-Morgado. The victim and his brother trained at Acosta-Morgado’s home twice a week. While his older brother would be upstairs in a leg compression device, Acosta-Morgado would isolate the victim and sexually assault him; these actions occurred at least 10 times over a period of about a month. A detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was assigned to the case and, during the investigation, another victim was discovered on Nov. 15, 2023. The second victim told the police he received athletic training from Acosta-Morgado in late 2020. At the end of the training session, the victim was instructed to take a shower. On one occasion, Acosta-Morgado entered the shower nude. Numerous times during their training, Acosta-Morgado would grope and kiss the 10-year-old victim. In addition, three of Morgado’s nephews testified about a similar fact pattern by Morgado which occurred when they were between 9 and 15 years old.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Terence Martin and Katherina Brown.