Miami Accident Lawyer Blog

MIAMI, FL— November 9, 2011 – Officials from the Coral Gables Police Department (CGPD) arrested and charged a University of Miami student from China in connection with the alleged sexual assault of multiple female students who were sleeping in their college dorms at the time. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the accused UM student, who is currently facing two counts of burglary with assault or battery, is being detained at the Miami-Dade’s Pre-Trial Detention Center without bail.

Reports suggested 21-year-old Jiahoao Yuan unlawfully entered two unlocked dorm rooms within the Mahoney Residential College Dorm around the 6am hour on Nov. 6. Once inside the first dorm room, Yuan allegedly went on to “inappropriately” touch a sleeping female UM student.

That unidentified victim woke up during the apparent sex assault, prompting Yuan to run into a second dormitory. It appears as if Yuan fled the scene after seemingly sexually assaulting another female student. The alleged sexual assault victims called 911 immediately after the dorm intrusions occurred.

According to a Coral Gables Police spokesperson, Yuan was identified as the culprit after detectives examined surveillance footage taken at the Mahoney Residential College dorm, which is located at 1101 Stanford Drive in Miami-Dade County. Following Yuan’s 12:30 p.m. arrest, he reportedly gave a full confession in the University of Miami dorm room assault case.

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MIAMI, FL—November 8, 2011 – A South Florida day care worker accused of child abuse and neglect in a pending civil lawsuit confessed to those allegations during a recent disposition, according to information provided by NBC Miami. A female J. Ruiz Learning Center employee, whom is being referred to as “Miss Emma” in the pending lawsuit, was questioned as to whether or not she had ever struck a child on the job and ultimately answered, “yes.”
Surveillance footage also showed the Miami-Dade day care employee standing by as a fight between several children ultimately ended with a 5-year-old girl having one of her braids yanked violently from her head. Upon being asked about her apparent failure to intervene, the accused day care employee contended, “They were just playing. They were just playing.”
Trina Jackson, the 5-year-old girl’s mother, filed a civil lawsuit against the Hialeah day care center, claiming both child neglect and abuse on the part of “Miss Emma.” J. Ruiz Learning Center is situated at 4111 Northwest 22nd Avenue.

Also deposed in the child abuse case was Jose Ruiz, who strongly insisted that no children have ever been subjected to abuse at the children’s learning center. When the plaintiff’s attorney asked Ruiz whether the day care worker’s actions would result in the termination of her employment, he apparently responded, “She was under a lot of pressure. She was questioned for hours. I didn’t see enough of the clip. I have to see more before I make a determination.”

Although no criminal charges have been filed against “Miss Emma,” reports indicated the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) fined the Hialeah day care upon completing a probe into the said child abuse allegations.

Denise Hodge, whose three children used to be enrolled at the day care center, also filed a lawsuit related to the case. Hodge reportedly got a job at J. Ruiz Learning Center, as to better understand the complaints her children were making about “Miss Emma.” Hodge contended, “She [“Miss Emma”] would let little kids fight each other… She’d even hit the little kids if they didn’t listen to her.”

When Hodge went on to report what she’d witnessed to Jose Ruiz, she faced backlash for doing so. Hodge claims she was fired for unjustified reasons the following day. Her lawsuit not only seeks $15,000 in damages, but also aims to have officials close down the facility for good and prohibit “Miss Emma” from attaining employment within the child care industry in the future. Hodge also seeks the introduction of legislation that would require all day care centers make an ongoing stream live surveillance footage available to parents who want to check up on their kids.

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MIAMI, FL— November 7, 2011 – A lawsuit alleging sexual assault and other defilements is pending against Morton’s Steakhouse in Boca Raton, NBC Miami reported. The ex-Morton’s chef being represented in the lawsuit not only accused some of his former coworkers of sexually assaulting him on the job, but also claimed management witnessed and allowed a chef to place vegetables in his underwear before serving the potentially soiled food to customers.

According to a civil lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County on Oct. 3, plaintiff Reggie Williams claimed Morton’s Steakhouse management witnessed Morton’s kitchen staff members verbally and physically abuse other employees at the Boca Raton restaurant on several occasions, though nothing was done to stop the harassment.

For instance, the lawsuit alleges former employee Edmond Bleus would not only verbally abuse the men he worked with, he would try to kiss and grab their genitals as well. Bleus is also accused of sticking stalks of asparagus in his pants to make it seem like he had an erection and then serving that asparagus to unwary customers.

The suit contended Morton’s Steakhouse management stood by and observed the heinous acts, but never reported them or attempted to stop them from continuing.

Williams quit his job as a chef after Bleus followed him into the restaurant’s cooler and allegedly sexually assaulted him. The lawsuit claims Bleus undressed himself from the waste down before seemingly attempting to rape the plaintiff.

Although Chicago-based Morton’s Steakhouse would not comment on the case, spokesman Roger Drake stated, “Morton’s is firmly committed to providing a safe and harassment free environment for all of its employees and patrons. In the event that any Morton’s employee acts contrary to our policies, Morton’s takes immediate and appropriate steps to rectify the situation. Morton’s also adheres to the highest industry standards in regard to food safety and food service.”
The South Florida sexual assault case is underway.

* The Miami personal injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. has no affiliation with the case above.

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MIAMI, FL—October 27, 2011 – A former Miami Beach Police officer and his friend are being sued in connection with the alleged drugging and raping of an aspiring model, who uploaded modeling photos on a social networking website in hopes that she would be contacted by talent/modeling agencies. According to NBC Miami, the rape victim claims the ex-cop posed as a talent agent and persuaded her to come to South Florida for an audition via BlackPlanet.com, which is also being named as a defendant in the pending sexual assault lawsuit.

Reports indicated 40-year-old Lavont Flanders, a former MBPD officer, and his friend, 45-year-old Emerson Callum were charged with 22 counts of human trafficking on August 17. During an FBI raid, agents reportedly confiscated multiple boxes of porn DVDs, as well as other pieces of unspecified evidence in the case. Flanders and Callum’s criminal trial is set to begin in November.

According to federal prosecutors, Flanders, who was employed by the Miami Beach Police Department between 1995 and 1997, pretended to be a talent scout and modeling agent as a means of enticing women to come to South Florida to “audition” for a nonexistent agency since 2006.

Reports state Flanders would allegedly put drugs in the women’s drinks and then film Callum, the president of pornography company Miami Vibes, rape the women. Those porn films were subsequently sold for profit through online retailers, as well as at local adult film stores. It was not clear how many sexual assault victims there were in all.

The pending rape lawsuit against Flanders, Callum and social networking site BlackPlanet.com was filed on Oct. 24 and seeks unspecified damages.

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MIAMI, FL— October 26, 2011 – Following the Oct. 12 arrest of a Kissimmee nurse accused of sexually assaulting two patients at Osceola Regional Medical Center this year, local authorities announced that they have not yet ruled out the potential for additional victims in cities where the male nurse (and former Air Force Nurse Corps captain) worked in the past, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Shean Michael Galvin, the accused male nurse, received national recognition in 2003 when he directed the medical evacuation of a recovered U.S. prisoner of war. Upon being rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel, Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch was reportedly medevac’d from Iraq—where she was injured and subsequently held captive by Iraqi forces—to a German hospital for treatment.

Galvin was arrested on two counts of sexual battery in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two patients at Kissimmee-based Osceola Regional Medical Center this year. Furthermore, police reports suggested rape allegations brought by a patient at Clermont-based South Lake Hospital prompted an inquiry by the Florida Board of Nursing in Oct. 2007.

Employed by South Lake Hospital between 2005 and 2007, Galvin apparently told that particular patient he could administer the injections she normally received for migraine headaches at her home, as opposed to in the ER. A nursing inquiry revealed that on Oct. 3, 2007, Galvin signed out three vials of the drug Dilaudid. That was the same day the woman claimed Galvin came to her home under the premise that “he would give her the shots of medicines” in exchange for “sexual favors.”
The woman in that case told police that not only did she take a bath and wash the majority of her clothes following the alleged assault; humiliation deterred her from reporting the incident until 12 days later. Given that there had been “destruction of possible evidence by the victim” and Galvin maintained he only went to the woman’s house to show her how to properly administer her own injections, he was not arraigned in that case.

He did however have his nursing license suspended due to the fact that he had no authorization to sign out the said vials of Dilaudid. He was also placed on probation for that offence.

In the 2011 cases, one Osceola Regional patient claimed she was forced to perform an explicit sexual act on Galvin during her stay at the hospital. Another victim claimed the male nurse administered her injections and then went on to inappropriately touch her.

According to Capt. Warren Shepard of the Kissimmee Police Department, “We are working on a timeline and plan to release it as soon as possible. We’re hoping to alert these communities there was a predator in their area who may have harmed people in his care… People are most vulnerable when they go to an emergency room and trust the people who are there are looking out for their best interests. This person obviously wasn’t.”
Although Galvin posted bond and has since been released from jail, he was also suspended from Osceola Regional Medical Center, which is expected to conduct its own investigation into the sexual assault allegations. The Florida Department of Health will also be investigating the sexual battery case.

Reports noted that while Galvin was serving overseas as an Air Force Reserves captain in 2003, he was a nurse under the employment of Reno-based Washoe Medical Center. In the past, Galvin was employed as a nurse in Nevada as well.

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MIAMI, FL— October 20, 2011 – A woman who was raped by an ex-Miami Police officer in March 2007 and went on to file a lawsuit against the city is expected to receive a settlement payment of $500,000, following the unanimous approval of city commissioners. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the plaintiff, who was employed as a South Beach waitress at the time of her attack, sued on the grounds that the Miami Police Department hired Michael Ragusa “despite the obvious red flags concerning his qualifications to be a police officer.”
Upon filing an application with the MPD, not only did Michael Ragusa admit to stealing money from a restaurant that he employed him in the past, he confessed to soliciting prostitutes and paying strippers to have sex with him, according to the lawsuit. Ragusa, who was once a boxer and weightlifter, also allegedly confessed to having a short temper.

The lawsuit further claims that while six addition police departments and agencies denied him a job, the Miami Police Dept. “engaged in only the most cursory scrutiny of his background history” and went on to hire him in March 2004.

In March 2007, Ragusa went on a rape binge of sorts. In a matter of weeks, the ex-cop sexually assaulted three women, including the unidentified plaintiff who was en route to her home from a Miami Beach bus stop when she was raped. Although Ragusa’s last rape victim convinced him she had an STD so he wouldn’t rape her, the uniformed police officer went on to demand that she give him her phone number nonetheless.

The third victim seemingly contacted Miami Beach Police officials upon receiving a text message from her. He was apprehended on multiple rape charges in March 2007. The following year, he pleaded guilty to various felony charges of that nature was sentenced to 10 years in prison. When Ragusa is released from prison, he will be regarded as a “sexual predator” and spend an additional 10 years on probation.

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