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Third arrest in case of psychologist accused of human trafficking of 15-year-old girl in Kendall

Third arrest in case of psychologist accused of human trafficking of 15-year-old girl in Kendall

MIAMI DADE COUNTY, Florida. – Miami-Dade police have made another arrest in connection with the case of a psychiatrist accused of trafficking a 15-year-old girl at a Kendall hotel.

Hermes Mejia, 29, of southwest Miami-Dade, is charged in the case alongside 45-year-old psychologist Maria Ximena Duarte and her 46-year-old boyfriend Jason Mojica after being arrested Thursday on charges of lewd and lascivious battery and lewd and lascivious exhibition of a child.

Duarte, who was arrested on Sunday, is accused of gaining the trust of the 15-year-old victim after meeting her at the pool of the Aloft Miami Dadeland hotel (7600 N. Kendall Drive) and luring her to her room.

According to police, Duarte once had sex with Mejia, who had previously been identified as “Pablo” in arrest reports, in front of the girl.

Mojica, who was arrested on Tuesday, is accused of subsequently sexually abusing the teenager.

According to a police report, Duarte first met the girl last Tuesday at the swimming pool while the teenager was walking her dog.

According to police, Duarte, of North Miami, befriended the girl and “quickly gained her trust” by offering her drugs and alcohol and posing as a psychologist.

Authorities said the girl met with Duarte in her room the next day and said Duarte “started taking pictures of the victim” and sent them to a man named Pablo, later identified as Mejia, saying the victim “was 21 years old and willing to have sex with him.”

An arrest report states that the victim was unwilling to do so.

According to police, Mejia came into the room and Duarte had sex with him in front of the teens. The report states that Duarte made the girl record a video of Duarte and the man “while telling the victim she was teaching her.”

The report states that at some point Mojica went to the hotel room and forced her to perform a sexual act.

According to police, at one point Duarte told Mojica, “She’s 15, can you believe that?” and told the girl before sexually assaulting her that she had to “make sure Jason was okay.”

Authorities said the victim reported the incident the next day and police later arrested Duarte. He has been held without bail at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center since Friday. He faces charges including human trafficking and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

Police said they would identify Mojica, who is homeless, using “investigative methods” and that the victim identified him as a suspect based on a photograph. He is accused of sexual assault on a victim aged between 12 and 17, lewd and lascivious assault and deprivation of custody. He has also been held at the TGK without bail since Friday.

As for the latest arrest, police said they were able to identify Mejia as a suspect and took him into custody Thursday after a traffic stop near Southwest 75th Avenue and Coral Way. He was also in TGK on Friday, and bail was listed as “to be determined” in online jail records.

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