The F.B.I. has launched an international manhunt for a youth volleyball coach who the agency says used a series of jobs at various organizations across the New York City area to engage in sexual conduct with teenagers.
The man, known as Edgar Lazaro but identified by the F.B.I. as Edgar Lazaro Castillo, has coached at youth clubs, schools and colleges since about 2010, according to public records and law enforcement officials. He was suspended last month from an assistant coaching position at the John Jay College for Criminal Justice in Manhattan after the school was informed of an investigation into Mr. Lazaro.
The F.B.I. said that Mr. Lazaro, 36, had fled the United States.
On Tuesday, officials from the bureau held a call with the families of teenagers who were part of NYC Impact Volleyball Club, an elite travel team that Mr. Lazaro coached, to update them on the investigation, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The investigation was initiated after a teenage player from the Impact Volleyball Club reported that Mr. Lazaro had assaulted him in a hotel room during a tournament in Boston in March.
It is unclear whether Mr. Lazaro has been charged with a crime. The U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn is investigating him along with the F.B.I.; a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment. Attempts to reach Mr. Lazaro by email and phone were not successful.
A woman who gave only her first name, Maria, and who identified herself as Mr. Lazaro’s mother at an address listed for him in the Bronx confirmed that he had lived there.
“I haven’t spoken to him in a long time, not since he left home,” she said. “That was maybe two or three years ago.”
In addition to the private conference call with parents, the F.B.I. posted a message on its social media accounts on Monday asking anyone with information about Mr. Lazaro to fill out a questionnaire for potential victims. Among other questions, the form asks respondents whether they exchanged sexual images or videos with Mr. Lazaro and whether they received payments from him. At least one high school in New York City and a college said they were cooperating with the investigation.
According to one law enforcement official, investigators believe that Mr. Lazaro could have had multiple victims.
“The FBI believes he primarily targeted minors who participated in volleyball leagues between the timeframe of 2010 and March 2026 in multiple states, primarily New York City,” the social media post said.
Mr. Lazaro has coached hundreds of children and adults over the last decade and a half, traveling the country with the teams and elite youth clubs for years, according to several people who have known him for years. Originally from Mexico, he grew up in the Bronx, where he attended Kennedy High School, and went on to play volleyball at York College in Queens.
According to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly, the inquiry started after a player from Impact Volleyball reported that Mr. Lazaro had molested him during the Boston tournament.
Days after the tournament in Boston, word of the episode began to spread in the volleyball community. According to the law enforcement official, investigators believe Mr. Lazaro fled the country after families of players received a letter from law enforcement officials alerting them to the inquiry.
Mr. Lazaro most recently served as the director of the boys’ volleyball program at Impact. A lawyer for the club said it could not comment because of the ongoing investigation.
Mr. Lazaro was the assistant coach of the 2025-26 men’s varsity team at John Jay before his suspension, according to Jonathan Vasquez, the school’s head coach. It is believed he is no longer employed there.
Kira Poplowski, the chief communications officer at John Jay, said she could not comment on an active investigation.
Shortly after leaving York College, Mr. Lazaro was hired in 2012 as the coach of the Legacy Volleyball Club. But Joel Sanchez, the club’s owner, said he fired Mr. Lazaro in 2014, citing inappropriate behavior. According to Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Lazaro repeatedly contacted players who were minors via text and social media without the consent of their parents.
Mr. Sanchez said he had reported the episodes to the Garden Empire Volleyball Association, known as GEVA, but because none of the players came forward, he was told that nothing could be done. He tried to get others players to come forward, but they were reluctant to do so because of the stigma, Mr. Sanchez said.
“I’m happy that he finally got caught, but also upset that others may have been hurt before something could be done,” Mr. Sanchez said.
Both GEVA and the national governing body, USA Volleyball, declined to comment about the F.B.I. investigation.
Neither organization would say whether it had received complaints about Mr. Lazaro or had taken any disciplinary action against him, including reporting allegations to law enforcement.
When a complaint of inappropriate behavior toward a minor arises, GEVA has “jurisdiction,” along with the club director, according to the organization’s website. USA Volleyball’s website states that anyone with knowledge that sexual abuse has occurred must immediately report it to the police.
A spokeswoman for New York City Public Schools confirmed that Mr. Lazaro had worked for it as a volunteer and an independent vendor, but said that he had never been employed by the school system, nor was he eligible to be. The school system said that it was cooperating with the investigation.
Youth sports are a lucrative business nationally; parents pay thousands of dollars a year for their children to compete in so-called elite programs, which can provide pathways to college and academic scholarships. Volleyball, for both boys and girls, is no different.
The Boston tournament, which is held annually over three weekends, brings together hundreds of players, families and administrators. Many teams travel hundreds of miles and stay in hotels as games are played on nearly 100 courts at a convention center at the city’s seaport. Teams that do well can qualify for a national tournament in July.
Mr. Lazaro, a regular presence at New York volleyball events for years, was known to referee high school matches in New York and schedule assignments for other referees at area high schools.
Mr. Lazaro also coached the boys’ team at Xavier, a Catholic high school in Manhattan, in 2024 and 2025, as well as the women’s team at St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn and at least two other clubs.
The president of Xavier, Jack Raslowsky, said that Mr. Lazaro had been fired after the 2025 season for poor work habits. “Let it suffice to say his communication skills and his organizational skills were not what we’d expect from a coach or an employee of any sort,” Mr. Raslowsky said. But he said that the school never had any indication of sexual misconduct by Mr. Lazaro.
Mr. Raslowsky added that Xavier was cooperating with the F.B.I. investigation.
William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes and Kitty Bennett contributed research.
David Waldstein is a Times reporter who writes about the New York region, with an emphasis on sports.
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