MIAMI (WSVN) - One of several boys charged in connection to the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood will be released from jail, and a 13-year-old suspect will stay behind bars as the minors await trail, a judge ruled.
Twelve-year-old Jusiah Jones and 13-year-old Nelson Nunez appeared in a Miami courtroom, Monday morning. Both boys are being charged as adults.
“The horrific nature of this assault is not diminished by the age of these defendants,” said Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Richard Hersch.
The children were charged back in February. City of Miami Police said the incident took place on June 18, 2025 in the Green Haven Project community.
Detectives said the boys approached the victim as she was walking home near the 200 block of Northwest 11th Terrace.
Police said Jones and Nunez dragged her to a nearby community garden and pinned her down.
An arrest report states the defendants “held her by the atms and legs, preventing her from leaving. Co-defendant #1 then put rocks in her mouth in [an] attempt to stop her from screaming. The defendant then removed her pants and underwear and proceeded to penetrate her.”
In court Monday, Hersch decided Jones will be released from confinement while he waits for trial.
Jones’ attorney, Jean-Michel D’Escoubet, spoke with 7News moments later.
“My client received a substantial different outcome because he was in a substantially different position. The position he was in was that he was forced to do the things that he did by the other two children as a threat of force, and those were the words of the young victim herself,” he said. “The judge ruled today that he’s not a substantial danger to the community, that he found that the evidence isn’t strong enough to keep my client in jail.”
Nunez’s attorney, Bijan Sebastian Parwaresch, also spoke with 7News after the hearing.
A third minor, identified as 15-year-old Xavier Tyson, also participated in the assault, according to police. The report states Tyson restrained the girl and pulled down her shirt.
As for Nunez, who is accused of carrying out the assault, he will remain in custody.
“The judge felt it was in justice’s interest for him to stay in custody. It just means for now, as we are defending the case and resolving the case, he will remain in custody,” said Bijan Sebastian Parwaresch, an attorney for Nunez.
Jones will be released on total lockdown house arrest. He will be required to wear an ankle monitor and attend virtual school for the time being. Hersch ordered him to stay away from the victim and from social media.
D’Escoubet added that the age of his client is an important factor when considering the circumstances.
“I think 12 years old is a really, really young and tender age for anybody to be charged as an adult, much less be held in jail pending trial as an adult. These are young children who committed a truly terrible act, but at the same time, they are 12 years old. My client is not in the position of the other two children,” he said.
Tyson, the third child alleged to be involved in the assault, is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday morning. It remains unclear whether or not he will be tried as an adult.
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