Swiss businessman accused of meeting 14-year-old boy for sex at a Coral Gables hotel
Federal agents have arrested a man from Switzerland on charges that he met a 14-year-old boy for sex at a Coral Gables hotel when he was in South Florida for business last year, according to court records.
Agents with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations say Jack Edward Coles, 39, arranged to meet the boy after they met on the Grindr dating app in October. He was arrested Friday when he tried to meet the boy again after he flew back into town on another business trip, according to his arrest complaint.
While Coles did not know the boy was 14, the teen did tell him he was 16 years old when they chatted before their first encounter, the complaint states.
According to an episode broadcast in March on the SportsGrad podcast, Coles is identified as project lead for FIFA Sounds, which organizes music for FIFA events.
In the podcast interview, Cole said he works at the soccer organization’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Coles’ arrest from the Miami Herald.
While chatting via Instagram on Oct. 10, Coles told the boy he was staying at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables and asked him if he wanted to come to the hotel. The boy told him he was 16, adding, “I have experience with older,” according to a screenshot of the conversation included in the complaint.
He told the teen that they would not have sex because of his age, adding, “I don’t want to break any laws,” according to the complaint.
Coles also told the boy to try not to be noticed when walking to his room because there were colleagues staying at the same hotel.
“OK, I have to be careful because I have colleagues here so can’t be seek walking into the hotel with a hot guy,” he wrote, according to the complaint.
Coles ordered an Uber to pick the boy up. When he arrived at the hotel, Coles bought the boy a White Claw alcoholic beverage and they had sex, agents said in the complaint.
After the encounter, Coles sent the boy an Instagram message telling him, “Can’t wait to see you again,” and “You’re gonna be my Miami boyfriend by the way,” the complaint states.
Agents said Coles flew back to Zurich on Oct. 21.
On Feb. 1, Coles sent the boy a message on Instagram, telling him, “I’m back Wednesday to Saturday So I see u,” according to the complaint. Coles flew from Frankfurt, Germany, to Los Angeles the next day, and from California to Miami, according to the complaint.
But what he didn’t know was the boy had been in contact with Homeland Security Investigations agents since their first encounter, and he was now under investigation. The complaint does not explain how authorities were notified about the alleged relationship between Coles and the boy.
On Friday afternoon, an agent met with the boy in Deerfield Beach, and the teen gave the agent control of his Instagram account, according to the complaint. The agent was now communicating with Coles, who thought he was messaging the teen, the complaint states.
Coles said he wanted to meet the boy that night because he was checking out of his hotel the next day. In the text exchange, Coles asked the boy if he could take a video of their next sexual encounter. When the agent, speaking as the boy, said “maybe,” Coles responded, “ok gorgeous boy,” and also asked him questions about his grooming preferences, according to the complaint.
Again, he arranged for an Uber to pick up the boy, this time at the Dolphin Mall. But, when the Uber arrived, the agent got in the car, which drove him to the Courtyard Miami Coral Gables hotel on South Le Jeune Road, according to the complaint.
When the agent arrived, he found other Homeland Security Investigations agents and city of Miami police officers staging outside of Coles room. When he opened the door expecting to see the boy, they arrested him, according to the complaint. He was “naked, except for a shirt,” when agents and cops found him, according to the complaint.
Coles was arrested on one count of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activities and a count of traveling to the United States with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
He is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, according to Bureau of Prisons records. Information on he legal representation was not immediately available.
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM.
