Miami Accident Lawyer Blog

MIAMI, FL—A plea deal was reached in the case of an ex-University of Miami football player originally charged with sexual battery in the alleged campus rape of an unidentified female, NBC Miami reported. A defense attorney on the case told reporters his client will plead guilty to a false imprisonment charge and serve a 3-year probation sentence under the said plea agreement.

According to information provided, 19-year-old former UM football player Jeffrey Brown, of Illinois, was accused of raping a sleeping (and intoxicated) woman in April 2011. Coral Gables police reports suggested the unidentified victim was drunk and went to Brown’s dorm room to ask if she could use the restroom. That woman ended up vomiting and passing out on the floor of the restroom before Brown brought her back to her friend’s dorm.

Brown ultimately went back to his own dorm after dropping the woman off at her friend’s dorm, but decided to return in the middle of the night. According to arrest reports, “As the victim was sleeping, [Brown] pulled off the victims blanket and got on top of her…He then removed the victims underwear.”  Authorities contended that although the woman eventually woke up and ordered Brown to stop having sex with her, but to no avail.

Upon being interrogated by police in connection with the alleged campus sexual assault, Brown initially contested the allegations. It was only after Coral Gables Police detectives stumbled upon an incriminating text message conversation between Brown and one of his friends—in which the accused former UM football player asked his unidentified friend to dispose of his underwear— that he confessed to having sexual intercourse with the complainant.

Brown, whom was a freshman when the rape allegations surfaced, has since been kicked off the Miami Hurricanes.

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MIAMI, FL— November 9, 2011 – Officials from the Coral Gables Police Department (CGPD) arrested and charged a University of Miami student from China in connection with the alleged sexual assault of multiple female students who were sleeping in their college dorms at the time. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the accused UM student, who is currently facing two counts of burglary with assault or battery, is being detained at the Miami-Dade’s Pre-Trial Detention Center without bail.

Reports suggested 21-year-old Jiahoao Yuan unlawfully entered two unlocked dorm rooms within the Mahoney Residential College Dorm around the 6am hour on Nov. 6. Once inside the first dorm room, Yuan allegedly went on to “inappropriately” touch a sleeping female UM student.

That unidentified victim woke up during the apparent sex assault, prompting Yuan to run into a second dormitory. It appears as if Yuan fled the scene after seemingly sexually assaulting another female student. The alleged sexual assault victims called 911 immediately after the dorm intrusions occurred.

According to a Coral Gables Police spokesperson, Yuan was identified as the culprit after detectives examined surveillance footage taken at the Mahoney Residential College dorm, which is located at 1101 Stanford Drive in Miami-Dade County. Following Yuan’s 12:30 p.m. arrest, he reportedly gave a full confession in the University of Miami dorm room assault case.

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MIAMI, FL—November 8, 2011 – A South Florida day care worker accused of child abuse and neglect in a pending civil lawsuit confessed to those allegations during a recent disposition, according to information provided by NBC Miami. A female J. Ruiz Learning Center employee, whom is being referred to as “Miss Emma” in the pending lawsuit, was questioned as to whether or not she had ever struck a child on the job and ultimately answered, “yes.”
Surveillance footage also showed the Miami-Dade day care employee standing by as a fight between several children ultimately ended with a 5-year-old girl having one of her braids yanked violently from her head. Upon being asked about her apparent failure to intervene, the accused day care employee contended, “They were just playing. They were just playing.”
Trina Jackson, the 5-year-old girl’s mother, filed a civil lawsuit against the Hialeah day care center, claiming both child neglect and abuse on the part of “Miss Emma.” J. Ruiz Learning Center is situated at 4111 Northwest 22nd Avenue.

Also deposed in the child abuse case was Jose Ruiz, who strongly insisted that no children have ever been subjected to abuse at the children’s learning center. When the plaintiff’s attorney asked Ruiz whether the day care worker’s actions would result in the termination of her employment, he apparently responded, “She was under a lot of pressure. She was questioned for hours. I didn’t see enough of the clip. I have to see more before I make a determination.”

Although no criminal charges have been filed against “Miss Emma,” reports indicated the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) fined the Hialeah day care upon completing a probe into the said child abuse allegations.

Denise Hodge, whose three children used to be enrolled at the day care center, also filed a lawsuit related to the case. Hodge reportedly got a job at J. Ruiz Learning Center, as to better understand the complaints her children were making about “Miss Emma.” Hodge contended, “She [“Miss Emma”] would let little kids fight each other… She’d even hit the little kids if they didn’t listen to her.”

When Hodge went on to report what she’d witnessed to Jose Ruiz, she faced backlash for doing so. Hodge claims she was fired for unjustified reasons the following day. Her lawsuit not only seeks $15,000 in damages, but also aims to have officials close down the facility for good and prohibit “Miss Emma” from attaining employment within the child care industry in the future. Hodge also seeks the introduction of legislation that would require all day care centers make an ongoing stream live surveillance footage available to parents who want to check up on their kids.

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MIAMI, FL— November 7, 2011 – A lawsuit alleging sexual assault and other defilements is pending against Morton’s Steakhouse in Boca Raton, NBC Miami reported. The ex-Morton’s chef being represented in the lawsuit not only accused some of his former coworkers of sexually assaulting him on the job, but also claimed management witnessed and allowed a chef to place vegetables in his underwear before serving the potentially soiled food to customers.

According to a civil lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County on Oct. 3, plaintiff Reggie Williams claimed Morton’s Steakhouse management witnessed Morton’s kitchen staff members verbally and physically abuse other employees at the Boca Raton restaurant on several occasions, though nothing was done to stop the harassment.

For instance, the lawsuit alleges former employee Edmond Bleus would not only verbally abuse the men he worked with, he would try to kiss and grab their genitals as well. Bleus is also accused of sticking stalks of asparagus in his pants to make it seem like he had an erection and then serving that asparagus to unwary customers.

The suit contended Morton’s Steakhouse management stood by and observed the heinous acts, but never reported them or attempted to stop them from continuing.

Williams quit his job as a chef after Bleus followed him into the restaurant’s cooler and allegedly sexually assaulted him. The lawsuit claims Bleus undressed himself from the waste down before seemingly attempting to rape the plaintiff.

Although Chicago-based Morton’s Steakhouse would not comment on the case, spokesman Roger Drake stated, “Morton’s is firmly committed to providing a safe and harassment free environment for all of its employees and patrons. In the event that any Morton’s employee acts contrary to our policies, Morton’s takes immediate and appropriate steps to rectify the situation. Morton’s also adheres to the highest industry standards in regard to food safety and food service.”
The South Florida sexual assault case is underway.

* The Miami personal injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. has no affiliation with the case above.

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