CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Deputies arrested a 63-year-old police officer who worked at Westchester Elementary School in Coral Springs after he allegedly solicited a teenage girl for sex, the Broward Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday.
Steven J. Daniello, a veteran police officer, was a longtime family friend of the 15-year-old victim. The Coral Springs Police Department removed him from his position at the school.
“I made a mistake,” Daniello said as he walked out of Broward County’s main jail on Tuesday night.
Detectives said Daniello started to communicate with the victim online in September. He allegedly offered to pay the victim for nude photos and asked the victim to perform sexual acts on him.
Detectives impersonated the victim to corroborate the case and arrested him on Monday. He is facing two counts of soliciting a minor to engage in sexual conduct.