Former South Florida basketball coach arrested on another molestation charge

MIAMI – A former South Florida middle school basketball coach has been arrested on another lewd and lascivious molestation charge.

Javier Cuenca, 35, was arrested last month. He was out on bond stemming from a 2014 arrest on similar charges.

Miami-Dade police said Cuenca was a math teacher and basketball coach at Miami Gardens Middle School in 2010 when he molested a 12-year-old basketball player.

According to an arrest affidavit, Cuenca acted as a mentor to the boy and wanted to groom him into becoming a college basketball player.

"(Cuenca) would call and send text messages to the victim excessively advising him to stay away from girls so that he could fully concentrate on basketball," the arrest affidavit said. "(Cuenca) told the victim about players that he helped develop and moved on to play college basketball."

According to the affidavit, Cuenca said he helped the other players by providing them with performance-enhancing drugs and offered to give the boy the same. However, Cuenca said he would have to check the boy's penis, which he called a "penis line," to make sure he was ready to take the steroid.

The now-18-year-old accuser told police that Cuenca drove him home from the gym one day in June 2010 and, while they were parked in front of his home, Cuenca fondled him.

Cuenca was arrested in November 2014 after police said he committed similar acts while he was a basketball coach at Hialeah Gardens in Senior High School. He was fired by the Miami-Dade County school district when the allegations against him were first made in 2013.

Cuenca's bond was revoked. He is currently being held at the Metro West Detention Center.