Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, a 70-year-old homeless man who lived in a tent in the woods behind the Circle K on Palm Harbor Parkway near Frontier Drive, faces a life felony for human trafficking and a second degree felony on allegations of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, or statutory rape.
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Valerio-Rodriguez on Monday. The girl and alleged victim had run away and met wit Valerio-Rodriguez in his tent, where the incident occurred. A sheriff’s detective first spoke with the girl at AdventHealth Palm Coast. The girl underwent an examination by a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE, and was interviewed in Daytona Beach by a child protection team examiner.
The girl told the examiner that she had met Valerio-Rodriguez late last year at Circle K, where she asked him to buy her a vape, which he did. She then visited him several times a week to smoke, drink alcohol and smoke pot. He would refer to her as his friend, then started referring to her as his girlfriend, and the two would kiss. The girl said she would allow him to do so to obtain drugs. He became increasingly “touchy,” as she described it.
On Feb. 17, the girl ran away from her mother between 8:30 and 9 and went to Valerio-Rodriguez’s tent, where the two started to talk and drink. The girl drank so much that she threw up. She was impaired. According to her account, Valerio-Rodriguez began to grope her, then became more aggressive, to the point of undressing her and assaulting her sexually. He begged her to stay the night. She refused, coming up with several reasons why she had to leave (he had two guns in the tent). Valerio-Rodriguez gave her a ring and wrote his phone number on a piece of paper, told her he loved her and walked her to the front of the Circle K.
Flagler County Sheriff’s detective Kathryn Gordon was assigned the case and set up a controlled call with Valerio-Rodriguez–a call where the girl was at one end, and Valerio-Rodriguez was at the other, unaware that law enforcement was listening in. The girl referred directly to the sexual act Valerio-Rodriguez performed to which he appeared to confirm: “I love it, I love it,” telling her she did very well before becoming explicit about her body, and that she was his only one.
When Gordon and Sgt. Frank Gamarra met with Valerio-Rodriguez at Circle K on March 3, he denied knowing the girl, conceding only that he’d given a ring to a girl. He would not answer further questions. The cops had a search warrant in hand both for Valerio-Rodriguez’s DNA and to search his tent. The search produced “multiple firearms,” the notebook from which he’d ripped the piece of paper to write his phone number on, a vape pen and other items. A pair of female underwear was located in his pocket.
He was placed under arrest and booked at the Flagler County jail. No bond has been set.
On March 5, the Sheriff’s Office announced that Valerio-Rodriguez, who is a Cuban citizen, was found to be living in the country illegally. Due to his immigration status, detectives contacted the Department of Homeland Security, who determined there was probable cause for deportation and issued an immigration detainer. A Flagler County detention deputy, who was also a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Warrant Service Officer, served the detainer on Valerio-Rodriguez. He will be transferred into DHS custody and deported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when the local arrest is resolved through the courts.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified the location of the Circle K as Palm Coast Parkway, rather than Palm Harbor Parkway.
Billy says
Palm Coast is looking like Daytona Holly Hill more and more every day. It will be more like Jacksonville in a few years with tons and tons of illegals and criminals moving in along with the population growth! So this is called progress?
Wondering says
I don’t think Palm Coast Pkwy and Frontier intersect, right? Did you mean Palm Harbor ?
JC says
Illegals and Criminals can be everywhere, not because of population growth. You are off your high horse.
Endless dark money says
Future republican presidential candidate?
Duane says
It’s unfortunate that some people, who lack knowledge of the facts, speak so negatively about Holly Hill. The crime that some associate with the city is actually happening in the unincorporated areas of Volusia County and in Daytona Beach, south of Mason Ave. and west of Nova Road. Holly Hill itself is a safe community with relatively low crime comparatively, yet it often bears the brunt of false rumors and unfounded claims.
Charlie says
This guy is originally from New Yourk and not an illegal.
Marty Barrett says
Attorney General. Certainly checks all the boxes
JC says
Mostly by cranky old people who don’t leave Flagler County and think cities = crime/black people/illegals.
Wow says
I guess that’s the only way for homeless, poor, probably mentally ill, people to get food and shelter. Now he has “Three hots and a cot.” as they say.
FlaglerResident says
Can someone explain the Human Trafficking charge? The article doesn’t mention him ‘selling’ her…unless I don’t understand the definition of HT.
TIA
FlaglerLive says
The human trafficking charge is increasingly and usually improperly applied in such cases when the defendant bribes the victim, a vastly different offense from trafficking as defined in federal law: “Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.” Florida’s definition dilutes that considerably, in essence equating any soliciting act, whether for commercial trafficking or not, with human trafficking, which of course is inaccurate and would apply to any act involving a minor–and is usually not a case prosecutors can win in court. (Florida’s definition: “transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring, providing, enticing, maintaining, or obtaining another person for the purpose of exploitation of that person.”)