Two boys, ages 12 and 13, are now facing adult charges after Miami police say they raped a 12‑year‑old girl in Overtown last June. Investigators allege the attack happened at a neighborhood community garden and lasted roughly half an hour. Prosecutors’ decision to file in adult court marks an uncommon move for defendants this young.
Names, charges and custody
Court records and Miami police reports identify the defendants as 13‑year‑old Nelson Nunez and 12‑year‑old Jusiah Jones. Both are charged in adult court with sexual battery causing serious injury and false imprisonment, and Nunez faces an additional kidnapping charge. A 15‑year‑old co‑defendant is being prosecuted in juvenile court, and another boy is listed as a witness.
Nunez and Jones were booked into the Metro West Detention Center and taken to adult bond court, where a judge ordered them held without bond, according to Local 10.
Police account of the assault
According to Miami police, the girl was taken from a friend’s home to the Green Haven Project community garden at about 10 p.m. on June 18, 2025. Detectives say Nunez grabbed her and took her to a couch while the other boys held her down. One boy allegedly put rocks in the victim’s mouth to keep her from screaming. Investigators say the assault ended only when the girl’s father arrived in the area and called out for her.
Police reports include short recorded fragments attributed to witnesses and the victim. According to the reports, the girl can be heard saying, “No, no, stop, stop, it hurts,” and a witness is quoted as saying, “what your momma seen, it wasn’t like that,” as reported by Local 10.
How Florida law allows adult filings
Florida law permits state attorneys to move certain juvenile defendants directly into adult court when they are accused of specified serious felonies. Sexual battery is among the offenses listed in the state’s direct file statute. The statute lays out discretionary criteria for when prosecutors may transfer a child for adult criminal prosecution and explains the legal effect of that transfer under state law, according to the Florida Statutes…