MIAMI (WSVN) - A 37-year-old Miami man was arrested after being accused of preying on a 12-year-old girl and sending her explicit text messages.
Yosvany Fernandez Gonzalez is facing several charges, which include lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, traveling to meet a minor, electronic transmission harmful to minors, and possession of child pornography.
During his court appearance on Friday, a judge set Fernandez Gonzalez’s bond to $55,000. He was also issued a stay-away order and will be placed on house arrest with a GPS monitor once he pays his bond.
“Good morning, sir. You were arrested for lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, for using computer services to meet a minor, computer services, transmission and harmful material to a minor,” said 11th Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer.
Fernandez Gonzalez kept his head down as Glazer read his charges.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the victim’s mother reported to police that her daughter was engaging in explicit conversations with the suspect.
“They met at a certain public place. He sees her, asks her for her name, then tells her, ‘How old are you?’ Which she’s honest, and she says, ‘I’m 12 years old,'” said Miami Police Officer Michael Vega.
Officials said Fernandez Gonzalez obtained the girl’s phone number. Investigators would later use that information to catch him.
The messages were revealed when the mother noticed her daughter acting weird. The mother told police that her daughter asked her if she could go outside twice, and when she told her no, the mother took her phone and found the inappropriate texts.
“When the mom sees this strange behavior by the daughter, she says, ‘Let me have your phone,’ she looks at her phone, and then she notices that she’s been having this inappropriate text messaging with this adult,” said Vega.
The texts, police said, included several explicit images and videos shared between the two.
“This is something that is incorrect. That’s why we speak to both parties,” said Vega.
Officials posed as the victim and set up a fake meet-up with Fernandez Gonzalez to catch him outside a Target in Miami.
“We got the 12-year-old’s phone, and we started texting him as if we were the 12-year-old,” said Vega.
Vega is encouraging parents to talk to their children about these kinds of situations.
“They have to have an open communication where these kids can speak to their parents and tell them, ‘Mom, Dad, this is what I have. This is what’s going on. I got this picture,’ and that the parents can guarantee them that they aren’t going to punish them.” said Vega.
Police are asking for possible additional victims who have been targeted by Gonzalez to come forward and speak to them.
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