Aide at early childhood learning agency charged with trying to coax Miami teen into sex
A part-time aide to top executives at a Miami agency that advocates for early childhood learning programs faces charges in federal court this week of trying to coerce a 14-year-old boy into meeting him for a sexual tryst.
According to a criminal complaint filed last Friday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, Rafael Saldaña, 37, interacted with the young teen on a video chat site, then continued conversations on another social media platform. And though they never physically met, investigators say they found a string of texts about engaging in sex and photos the minor sent of his exposed genitals. In the texts, according to the complaint, Saldaña also suggested that the two would spend a lot of time together over the summer and that he would make the teen his “little play thing.”
Saldaña was taken into custody at his home Friday and is facing charges of coercion and enticement of a minor as well as production of child pornography. He’s expected to appear in Miami federal court for a detention hearing on Thursday, when prosecutors are expected to ask a magistrate judge to keep him locked up before trial.
Saldaña was fired from his part-time job with the Children’s Movement of Florida on Friday night, not long after he was taken into custody.
“The Children’s Movement of Florida is horrified by the serious allegations of wrongdoing by one of our part-time staff. Our overarching priority and focus every day going back almost a quarter century is to tirelessly advocate and effectively work for the best possible future for all of Florida’s children,” agency president and chief executive Madeleine Thakur said in a prepared statement.
Saldaña, who identifies himself on social media as executive director of a firm that advocates for affordable housing, spent the past two years doing part-time work for The Children’s Movement of Florida, a non-profit founded by former Miami Herald Publisher David J. Lawrence and others more than a decade ago. The agency works with the United Way and other organizations to promote early learning initiatives.
The Children’s Movement of Florida is a completely separate entity from the Children’s Trust, which has a dedicated funding source in Miami-Dade County taxpayers.
Lawrence called the arrest “painful,” and said Saldaña first interned with the agency about a decade ago while he was attending New York’s Columbia University. He said for the past two years Saldaña had mainly done odd jobs around the agency, often helping out with technical issues. He also said Saldaña has had no interaction with children.
“I spoke with his father, who I’ve known for years. This is a potential enormous family tragedy,” Lawrence said. “It’s a desperately sad situation.”
Saldaña was being represented by attorney Dianne Caramés, according to court records. She had not returned a phone call from the Miami Herald by mid-afternoon Monday. State records show no previous arrests.
According to the federal complaint, an officer with the Miami-Dade Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations task force learned of the contact between the two on June 21, after the teen’s mother claimed to have found nude images of her son on two of his cellphones. She contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Police say the teen and Saldaña communicated at first through the video chatroom Omegle, then continued their conversations on more personal Snapchat. During their social media interactions, police say the teen sent Saldaña naked pictures of his buttocks and penis and that Saldaña sent back half-naked pictures of himself.
By the end of June, an investigator was interacting over social media with Saldaña, instead of the teen, the complaint says. Soon they agreed to meet at a Miami McDonald’s. Then on July 13, the complaint says, Saldaña parked his Honda Civic across the street from the fast food restaurant, at a Chevron station. After texting the teen, he became spooked and drove off. Police, who were watching, arrested him a short time later at his home.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
