Watch CBS News

Cop Arrested For Molesting Teens Takes Plea

MIAMI – (CBS4) -A former Miami-Dade Police officer who had been accused of fondling two teenage girls as he conducted a routine traffic stop struck a deal with prosecutors that will keep him away from jail in exchange for a guilty plea.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 24, will serve five years' probation with the possibility to terminate the probation after three years, if he completes the program successfully. Rodriguez also pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse/no great harm – a lesser charge than the one he was originally charged with: two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child between the ages of 12 and 16.

Under the terms of the plea, Rodriguez will also be required to attend a sexual offender treatment program, complete 100 hours of community service. Rodriguez will also be prohibited from serving as a law enforcement officer or work in the security profession.

The alleged incidents occurred on the night of January 11th at 10:30 p.m. behind a CVS Pharmacy near Southwest 88th Street and 157th Avenue.

Sexual battery detectives who investigated Rodriguez' case concluded in the arrest warrant that Rodriguez "had assaulted a number of other young women in a similar manner."

"His `searches' of these young women were not done in accord with police protocol, and served no legitimate police purposes,'' Ricardo Landrian, a Miami-Dade police detective, wrote in the warrant.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.