MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade firefighter was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Friday night after an investigation into allegations that he had committed sex crimes.
Jose Ramon Lopez has two pending cases in Miami-Dade County court, records show. In a new case, he is facing three counts of attempted sexual battery without serious personal injury. In a warrant case, he is facing one count of attempted sexual battery without serious personal injury.
One of the victims, a 19-year veteran speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said Lopez, 48, had long targeted women he worked with at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s station 20 in North Miami. She said she felt like she “was fighting” for her life when he attacked her over a decade ago.
“Today, I feel like at least we have a chance to bring him to a point of being held accountable,” she said on Friday after learning of his arrest.
MDFR had placed Lopez on administrative duty after launching the internal investigation on April 22, 2022. The two women who worked at the station said that when they realized they had both been his victims, and he was a repeat offender, they decided to report him.
“You don’t report things like that,” one of the victims recently told Local 10 News. “You’re in a male-dominated field, you didn’t want to get the reputation of being the girl the guys can’t be around.”
Local 10 News inquired about the internal and police investigations back in March.
Miami-Dade Fire Chief Rai Jadallah said the department took immediate action, but “because this is an ongoing investigation, details of the incident in question cannot be discussed.”
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Cristina Miranda is presiding over the cases, records show.