Minor

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 7, 2025

Minor Drowns in Backyard Pool of Miami-Dade County Home. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A family in Miami-Dade’s El Portal neighborhood is living every parent’s worst nightmare after their 4-year-old was found floating in a backyard pool Friday morning, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Emergency responders were called out around 3:40 a.m. to the home near the 100 block of Northwest 90^th Street. The girl was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she died.

The person who reported the incident saw the child in the pool — which allegedly had no safety fence around it — but was unable to help her, according to reporting from CBS News Miami.

Published on: June 3, 2025

Leesfield & Partners Files Lawsuit Against Popular Gym After Minor Sexually Assaulted on Premises.

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a minor who was sexually assaulted at an LA Fitness in Miami by a gym member with a known history of violent behavior.

This case is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Evan Robinson, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, who said that this preventable and traumatic incident represents a gross violation of basic safety standards.

“LA Fitness knew this assailant was a dangerous individual who had previously exhibited violent conduct at the gym,” he said. “They did nothing to restrict his access to the gym and their failure to act is the reason why our client experienced this horrific trauma.”

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.