- March 5, 2025
A 70-year-old Cuban man was arrested in Palm Coast on March 3 after Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies charged him with human trafficking and sexual activity with a minor.
According to the FCSO, a 16-year-old girl reported to deputies on Feb. 17, that a sexual incident had taken place between her and Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, a homeless man who was found to be living in the country illegally. The teen was previously reported missing, and reported the crime to the FCSO after she returned home.
Valerio-Rodriguez lived in a tent behind the Circle K gas station at 1201 Palm Harbor Parkway, and his arrest report states she had been spending time with him since December 2024 when she asked him to buy her a vape. She told deputies that she would visit him multiple times a week to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, according to the arrest report, and that she previously allowed Valerio-Rodriguez to kiss her to "obtain drugs."
FCSO detectives, who involved the Florida Department of Children and Families in the case, obtained a search warrant for Valerio-Rodriguez's tent, as well as his DNA.
After his arrest, he was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held without bond. FCSO detectives also contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to request a detainer for deportation, the press release states.
“This predator was living in the country illegally and took advantage of a child,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in the press release. “... The Sheriffs of the State of Florida stand united against criminal aliens. We pray the child victim receives the help she will need from this attack.”
