MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A registered sex offender was caught on camera in apparent glee after victimizing a 14-year-old girl on the Miami Beach Boardwalk, according to an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Thursday.
Rasheed Armahd Jones, 49, convicted of multiple sex offenses in South Carolina dating back to 1995, is now facing a felony lewd and lascivious molestation charge here in South Florida.
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According to police, his latest crime happened just before 7 p.m. Monday on a portion of the boardwalk near Fifth Street on South Beach.
The report states that Jones, passing by the girl, “reached out his hand and brushed her buttocks in an intentional and lewd manner.”
The girl told police that when she looked at Jones, he “held his finger to his mouth indicating to her to stay quiet,” the report states.
Police said the teen’s mother noticed Jones walking close by and when she told her that he had just molested her, she confronted him.
Authorities said Jones then ran south on the boardwalk. The report states a passerby flagged down officers after witnessing the altercation and the victim’s mother approached them to report what happened.
The report states that surveillance cameras captured the crime — and what happened afterward: Jones “skipping and dancing, apparently celebrating his actions.”
Police said they put out a be-on-the-lookout notice with Jones’ description and at around 8:30 p.m., an officer spotted him near 14th Place and Ocean Drive and detained him. They said the victim later identified him as the suspect, leading to Jones’ arrest.
Jail records show that Jones, registered as a transient sex offender in Florida, was being held in the Metrowest Detention Center on a $25,000 bond as of Thursday.