MIAMI (WSVN) - Authorities said they arrested a repeat sex offender accused of sneaking around a community, peeping into different apartment windows and leaving residents on edge for months.
Twenty-eight-year-old Mike Kevin Jacques was arrested late Tuesday night after one victim, Sofia Galiano, shared her story with 7News about the numerous times she’s caught Jacques peeping through her window and trespassing on her property.
Police made the arrest after being tipped off by other residents in the area.
Wednesday afternoon, Jacques stood before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lody Jean.
“You’re charged with two counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling, as well as one charge of stalking,” said Jean.
Galiano spoke with 7News after learning the news about Jacques’ arrest.
“This is someone who has raped someone, kidnapped them and burglarized people. This isn’t a peeping Tom. This is a violent person who’s looking to harm me, and he’s been preying on me this entire time,” she said.
Jacques is accused of lurking around the area of Northwest First Court and 74th Street, peering into different women’s apartment windows for weeks.
Galiano said she is one of them. She became emotional when sharing her account with 7News.
“You know, he’s gotten away with worse, like, it literally could’ve been me,” she said. “I’m gonna do everything I can to protect myself, but he can’t keep victimizing other people. It’s not right. It’s not right, OK? It has to stop.”
Galiano said Jacques showed up on her surveillance cameras three times in the past two months.
The second time he was seen on her property, Galiano confronted the suspect, to no avail.
“Can I help you? What are you doing back there? What?” she is heard saying in the surveillance video.
“I opened the door when he was coming out, and I asked him what he was doing, if I could help him, and he’s like, ‘I was looking for something,’ and he had nothing else to say. He just left,” said Galiano.
Reflecting on that moment a few days later, she said it could have had a very different ending.
“When I opened the door and I confronted him, in hindsight, it could have been so different, and I had no idea. I feel like I escaped death at that point,” said Galiano.
Officials said this isn’t Jacques’ first run-in with the law.
In 2023, he was charged with kidnapping, raping and battering a woman in Little Haiti. He also faced an associated burglary charge. Those charges were dropped by the state months later, and he was able to walk free.
Still, this does not provide any ease to Galiano’s situation.
“This is someone who is a career criminal, and he has repeatedly shown that. He gets arrested and gets bonded out and continues the same behavior,” she said. “He’s been walking the streets and in my backyard, knowing that he’s raped a girl a couple of blocks behind me. It’s unbelievable, and I have no idea what I was facing.”
In court Wednesday, Jean ordered Jacques to stay away from the victim.
“Here initials are S.G. Do you understand me so far?” said Jean.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Jacques.
“So you can’t any direct or indirect contact. You also cannot come within 500 feet of her home,” said Jean.
Now, Galiano hopes this time around Jacques stays behind bars.
“I was just informed he had a $25,000 bond posted and a no contact order, so he has to stay at least 500 feet away from me, so it gives me some relief, but that’s temporary. I need to file a restraining order, and I need to know that he’ll never come near me again,” she said.
7News has learned Jacques a fugitive bond out of Broward County for violation of probation and indecent exposure, meaning that he would have to be extradited to Broward before potentially posting that bond.
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