A man arrested for allegedly molesting a girl on her way to school in Miami Gardens was identified as a suspect in a different sex crime by a teen who saw him on the news.
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Carlos Jean, 37, was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he molested a 12-year-old on her way to school. He was charged with battery and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child 12-16 years old.
On Wednesday, a high school student who recognized Jean from news reports identified him as the suspect in a crime back in March.
According to a new arrest report, that victim was walking home from school when she walked past a burgundy Kia Optima parked on the swale of the road by Carol City High School.
“The vehicle had the windows down, and an unknown male was sitting inside the vehicle masturbating,” an arrest report states.
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Police said Jean told her, “You ain’t ever seen this before.” The teen kept walking, but Jean drove slowly after her, left, and then drove past her several times, the arrest report states.
When she got home, Jean allegedly continued to drive past her home, and the teen told her mother, who also saw the vehicle drive away.
Almost two months later, the victim and her mother heard news of Jean’s arrest on the molestation charge and told Miami Gardens police that he was the man who had followed the teen home.
He is in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. He faces an additional charge of lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child under 16 years old.
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