Sexual Assault

Published on: February 5, 2026

Uber Driver Lost Control of Car, Crashed in Little Havana. Why?

A rideshare driver who lost control of her vehicle on Saturday, Jan. 31, crashing into another car and a building, said that her passenger assaulted her, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The incident happened around 1:45 a.m. in Little Havana near Southwest Sixth Avenue near Seventh Street. The woman, a driver for Uber, said that she was driving a man in her backseat when he allegedly covered her mouth and attempted to grope her.

The driver told police she had lost control of the vehicle in the struggle and crashed into another car and a building. Videos posted online after the fact show the mangled vehicles and damage to the building.

Published on: February 5, 2026

DNA Evidence, Community Tips Help Police Find Man Accused in Rape of Florida Memorial University Student

By Leesfield & Partners

Several tips from the community and alleged DNA evidence helped police find and charge a man they say raped a student at Florida Memorial University on Sunday.

Steven Devon Mason Rivers, 30, was charged with sexual battery and robbery by sudden snatching related to an incident on Sunday at FMU’s campus along the 15800 block of Northwest 42^nd Avenue in Miami Gardens, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The incident occurred around 6 a.m. when a woman, a student at the school, left her dorm with plans to meet a friend for a ride to her volunteer position at a sports camp. When her friend called to cancel, she began heading back to her dorm. It was at a bus stop across the street from the school that she saw a man who “whistled at her,” the newspaper reported.

Published on: December 12, 2025

Mother and Daughter Get Surprise in Their Waymo Taxi. What Did They Find?

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman in Los Angeles was surprised when she and her daughter ordered a Waymo driverless taxi in the Westlake District and found a man hiding in the backseat.

The video, which has gone viral online with millions of views, shows the woman immediately questioning the man who claims that “the people” put him in the trunk.

Skeptical viewers questioned why the vehicles’ many cameras did not flag the man hiding inside the vehicle.

Published on: December 12, 2025

Archdiocese Agrees to Mediation for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York will allegedly raise more than $300 million to compensate over 1,300 people who said they suffered sexual abuse as children at the hands of priests and church staff, according to a letter published this week.

The letter, which was published on Monday, Dec. 8, was penned by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York. In it, he said that the archdiocese has made a “series of very difficult financial decisions” to raise funds for the settlement.

Some of these decisions included the sale of various properties, layoffs, and a 10% reduction in their operating budget. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York is the second-largest diocese in the U.S. behind the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Published on: December 9, 2025

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

By Leesfield & Partners

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: August 11, 2025

Coral Springs Charter School Teacher Accused of Sexually Abusing Student. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

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.

Published on: July 28, 2025

Women Driving Women: Uber’s New Pilot Program to be Unveiled in Certain Cities. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Uber announced Wednesday the launch of its new “Women Preferences” feature, allowing women drivers and riders to choose to be matched with other women for their drive.

“At Uber, we believe that when we make our platform better for women, we make it better for everyone,” officials with the ride-sharing platform said in a statement. “Across the US, women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips. We’ve heard them — and now we’re introducing new ways to give them even more control over how they ride and drive.”

Uber is slated to launch pilot programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit within the next few weeks.

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: June 27, 2025

Movie Theater’s Armed Guard Sentenced in Florida Minor’s Rape, authorities say

By Leesfield & Partners

A Florida movie theater’s armed guard was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of raping a girl, 15.

Augusta Williams, 34, was convicted of lewd or lascivious battery on a child aged 12 to 16, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit announced Monday.

The incident happened on Jan. 14, 2023, when the teen was at the movies in Ocala with a group of friends, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The teen’s friends were picked up by a grandparent who refused to take the minor home. The teen could not reach a parent and Williams, an armed security guard at the theater, allegedly offered to watch over the minor.

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.”