A teacher at Coral Springs Charter School in Broward County has been accused of sexually abusing a student, according to reporting from local media.
Joseph Michael Melendez, 33, was charged Thursday, Aug. 7, with one count of sexual battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 18, two counts of lewd and lascivious battery of a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation.
Melendez is accused of abusing the victim — whose name and age were not released to protect their identity — during their freshman and sophomore years at the charter school. The school serves students from sixth grade until their senior year of high school. The student told police that Melendez first gained his trust in January of 2018.
By December 2018, nearly a year later, Melendez was allegedly taking the child to his apartment where he sexually abused the minor.
The school released a statement saying that Melendez was terminated following his arrest.
His bond was set Friday by a judge in Broward for $100,000. He was ordered to have GPS monitoring, no contact with the victim or other minors, and was prohibited from entering a Broward County School. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.
As of Monday, Melendez was still in custody at the Paul Rein Detention Facility, jail records show.
Leesfield & Partners
Tragically, sexual abuse of minors frequently occurs at the hands of those entrusted with their protection. These predators can be anyone from trusted family members, church officials, tutors, coaches, neighbors and teachers. They conceal themselves behind seemingly trustworthy facades, patiently awaiting opportunities to exploit the very children they are meant to safeguard. In 49 years of personal injury law, the attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have represented numerous cases, all devastating, in which these individuals betrayed that trust.
For teachers, the problem seems to be an epidemic. A study from the National Institute of Health’s National Library of Medicine showed that more than 11% of 6,000 survey respondents reported having experienced at least one form of educator sexual misconduct from kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade. About 63% of the abusers were academic teachers and 20% were athletic coaches. Approximately 85% of the perpetrators were male and over 70% of the students who reported the abuse were female.
In data from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. Every nine minutes, that person is a child.
With these shocking numbers, it is perhaps even more jarring to discover that only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators of sexual abuse will be convicted for these crimes.
Through decades of litigating these horrific cases, Leesfield & Partners has seen firsthand the damage that this trauma can do to unsuspecting survivors and victims. With that experience, the firm understands just how crucial mental health and other support services can be for survivors and victims and it is why Leesfield & Partners has made regular contributions to organizations dedicated to just that. The firm has done this via The Leesfield Family Foundation, the charitable foundation of Ira Leesfield, the Founder and Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners.
In decades of practice, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have built a reputation as tenacious advocates for their clients, securing numerous verdicts and settlements for those injured as the result of sexual abuse.
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners has represented victims and survivors in numerous cases involving sexual abuse and the negligence of corporations, management companies, and other entities responsible for ensuring their safety. Recently, Mr. Leesfield and Trial Attorney Carlos A. Fabano obtained a confidential settlement on behalf four clients who were sexually abused as children by the same church official while they attended parochial schools.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured a $16 million settlement for a couple who were brutally attacked while staying as guests at a hotel. The assailant in that case viciously beat both victims. He also raped and sexually assaulted the wife.
Despite the hotel’s known history of violent incidents, management had disregarded repeated recommendations from both law enforcement and a private security firm to employ armed security personnel.
On the day of the incident, the attacker gained unrestricted access to the hotel due to the absence of basic safety measures, such as functioning locks or keycard-secured elevators. He went up to the couple’s floor, where he launched a violent assault—first attacking the husband, then brutally beating and raping the wife. Disturbingly, hotel staff and on-site security witnessed parts of the attack but failed to intervene.
Previously, the firm secured $8.6 million for a camper at a well-known Florida summer camp. A camp counselor in that case was later found to have been sexually abusing our minor client. The camp ignored clear warning signs, to the detriment of the child they were entrusted to protect.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys previously secured a confidential settlement for a child who was flying as an unaccompanied minor on an airline and meant to be under the care of flight officials. During the flight, the child was sexually abused by another passenger.
In a case involving multiple students who were sexually abused by a teacher at a prestigious Florida high school, the victims and survivors were paid multi-million-dollar reparations thanks to the work of Leesfield & Partners.
The firm represented a Canadian cruise ship passenger who was attacked and raped in her private cabin by a crew member. This crew member used his employee keycard to enter the woman’s room. A multi-million-dollar recover was obtained for the woman in that case.
A store clerk was awarded $1.13 million in a negligent security case at a shopping mall following an incident in which the clerk was robbed and brutally raped.
A hotel maid was raped while on the job by a man who was not a guest who roamed the property without being questioned. Leesfield & Partners secured a $1 million settlement for the woman.
Ongoing Cases
Mr. Shapiro is representing a woman who was a guest at a luxury South Florida hotel when she was leered at by an employee as she showered. The employee entered our client’s room without permission, and stared at her until she yelled and chased him out.
That case is ongoing.
Mr. Shapiro and Evan Robinson, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a minor who was sexually assaulted while exercising at a Miami gym by a man with a known history of violent behavior at the property. On the day of the assault, our 14-year-old client was followed and harassed before she was assaulted by a 22-year-old man who had a previous outburst at the gym in which he screamed at the top of his lungs at other gym goers to get them to fight him.
No actions were taken by the gym to revoke his membership or limit his access to the property before the assault.
As a result, the young girl carries the weight of this trauma every day.
“She lives in a constant state of fear that she may run into her assailant, and she’s haunted by flashbacks and nightmares,” Mr. Robinson said. “No person should have to live like that — and especially not a child.”
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, is representing a woman who was left traumatized after it was revealed that a cruise ship employee had planted hidden cameras in her private cabin bathroom, capturing images of her and numerous other passengers that had vacationed with that cruise line. Many of the victims who were filmed included children. That employee was fired and has since been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child sex abuse material. Since the ordeal, our client has bene left with deep emotional scars.
That case is ongoing.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual abuse, you are not alone. Help can be found by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.