Criminal Charges

Published on: December 9, 2025

Miami Church Employee Accused of Sending Sexual Messages to Minor. What to Know.

A man who was allegedly employed by a local church as a driver is now facing charges after police say he sent sexually explicit messages to a 13-year-old girl he drove to and from church classes.

Elvin Daniel Ortiz Cruz, 23, was charged with promoting sexual performance by a child, electronic transmission harmful to a minor, and soliciting and luring a child to engage in sex, according to reporting from Channel 7 News. Ortiz Cruz was allegedly working as a van driver for the Ministerio Internacional Jesús El Salvador on Northwest 23rd Street. Ortiz Cruz reportedly began transporting the child to and from church classes in 2024 and police believe there may be more victims.

After discovering the messages on her daughter’s phone the girl’s mother reported them to police who began investigating. As a part of the investigation, detectives from the Miami Police Department and the Special Victims and Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) units launched an undercover operation and pretended to be the victim, exchanging messages with Ortiz Cruz, according to local media.

Published on: July 28, 2025

Therapist at Miami Substance Abuse Facility Faces Sexual Misconduct Charges. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A therapist at a Miami women’s mental health and substance abuse treatment facility faces several charges after multiple women reported that he assaulted them during private sessions, according to local media.

Manuel Enrique Garcia, 33, was charged with at least three counts of felony charges related to sexual battery on clients.

Two women reported to police, alleging Garcia had assaulted them during private therapy sessions, according to reporting from CBS Miami. One woman said she was threatened with “job loss and homelessness if she spoke out,” reporters said in the article. Another woman told police that she was assaulted and that Garcia threatened to change her records to harm her standing in court, which would prevent her from “reuniting with her child.” This was not the only time that Garcia had approached the woman in this manner, according to police.

Published on: March 17, 2025

Elderly Rhode Island Man Accused of Sexually Abusing Minor at Florida Resort.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 72-year-old from Rhode Island has been accused of sexually abusing a child in a lazy river at an Orlando, Florida, resort, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

William Francis Chatel faces charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 12 years of age.

The first incident happened on March 9 when the girl said a man, later identified by police as Chattel, came up to the child and assaulted her at least twice over the course of her family’s stay at the resort, reporters said in the article. The child later reported the incidents to a parent who allegedly filmed him attempting to swim up to two other unaccompanied children in the lazy river.