FIFA suspends department manager accused of having sex with an underage teen in Miami
FIFA, the international soccer governing body, confirmed Wednesday that federal agents in Miami-Dade County arrested a department manager in its music division and that the employee has been suspended.
Homeland Security Investigation agents arrested 39-year-old Jack Edward Coles on Friday after he arranged to have a 14-year-old boy come to his Coral Gables hotel room for a sexual encounter, according to a complaint filed in federal court this week.
The Miami Herald reported Monday that Coles is project lead for FIFA Sounds, which organizes music for FIFA events.
READ MORE: Swiss businessman accused of meeting 14-year-old boy for sex at a Coral Gables hotel
FIFA released a statement Wednesday that it suspended Coles as a result of his arrest.
“FIFA is aware of ongoing legal proceedings in Miami. The alleged offenses are serious and of a personal matter with no link to his work at FIFA. The individual has been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice from all duties. FIFA has no further comment at this stage.”
Coles’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request from the Miami Herald for comment on the charges. Coles is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, according to Bureau of Prison records.
Coles, who is from England but is assigned to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, met the boy in October while he was on a business trip in Coral Gables, where FIFA moved some of its operations, including its legal department, in 2023.
They contacted each other on the Grindr dating app. During a text exchange, the boy told Coles that he was 16, according to the complaint.
In an Oct. 10 chat on Instagram, Coles arranged for the boy to meet him at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables, the complaint states.
Coles told the teen to try not to be noticed when walking to his room because there were colleagues staying at the same hotel, agents stated.
“OK, I have to be careful because I have colleagues here so can’t be seek walking into the hotel with a hot guy,” Coles 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.
Coles later 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.
He flew back to Zurich on Oct. 21, agents said.
Coles sent the boy a message on Instagram on Feb. 1 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.
He was unaware that the boy had been in contact with Homeland Security Investigations agents since their first encounter, and he was now under investigation. The complaint doesn’t explain how authorities first came into contact with the teen.
On Friday, an agent met with the boy in Deerfield Beach, where 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, assuming he was speaking with the boy, told the agent he wanted to meet that night and that he was checking out of his hotel the next day, according to the complaint. He also asked the boy if he could take a video of them having sex, the complaint states.
The agent, speaking as the boy, said “maybe,” and Coles responded, “ok gorgeous boy.”
As in the first encounter, Coles arranged for an Uber to pick up the teen, this time at the Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater, agents said.
Again, he arranged for an Uber to pick up the boy 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.
Other Homeland Security Investigations agents and city of Miami police officers were already staging outside of Coles’ room when the Uber dropped off the agent, according to the complaint.
Coles opened the door expecting to see the boy and was arrested. He was “naked, except for a shirt,” when agents and officers found him, according to the complaint.
Coles faces 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 scheduled to go before a judge to answer for the charges Monday, Feb. 24 at the federal courthouse in Miami.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 1:37 PM.
