Miami cops look for more victims of ‘disgusting groper’ who stalked Brickell women

Investigators say they’re looking to talk to more victims of a man suspected of serial groping, terrorizing women as they walked in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood over several months.

So far, Miami cops have made two cases against a drifter named Emmanuel Bradley, 43, who remains jailed since his arrest late last month on misdemeanor battery charges. Since then, with stories of encounters also spreading on social media, more victims have come forward publicly — including a high-ranking Miami-Dade prosecutor.

Christine Zahralban, a deputy chief assistant state attorney and head of the legal bureau, said she was out for her usual early-morning walk in the Brickell area in March when a bald, shirtless man chased her for blocks.

“He’s now running and I’m running. I’m beyond terrified, because I know if he gets a chance, I’m going to be raped,” said Zahralban, who recalled the man yelled out: “Hey baby, all I want to do is vibe with you. Let’s vibe together.”

As the man was within feet of her, Zahralban flagged down a man on a bicycle for help. She turned, cursed her pursuer, and he ran off. She called Miami police, although the man vanished onto the streets. It wasn’t until the following month that Zahralban saw him again — this time on TV news stations, when Miami police announced Bradley’s arrest.

““My heart breaks for the women that didn’t think their voice mattered and didn’t call the police at all because they thought no one was going to do anything,” Zahralban said. “I know this guy was escalating — and he escalated with me.”

Trial is Pending

Bradley has not been charged so far in her case. He remains in a Miami-Dade jail, awaiting trial on two misdemeanor battery cases. He’d also been awaiting trial for criminal mischief after he was arrested in Miami Shores in January, accused of throwing a rock through the rear windshield of a parked car.

He has pleaded not guilty. Court dockets do not identify a defense attorney. Little was known about Bradley, a native of Iowa who has listed his address as the Camillus House homeless shelter.

The case has been referred to the Jail Diversion Program, which handles cases of defendants who suffer from mental illness. At his first appearance on April 20, in which he appeared from the jail, he barked out “So I’m not getting out?” before throwing a microphone.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has stepped away from the case because Zahralban is a reported victim, as is another former prosecutor who also lives in Brickell. Broward prosecutors are now handling the misdemeanor cases.

The allegations could fall under the proposed new crime of “indecent battery,” intended to target those who grope people, 16 years and older, in a sexual manner. First-time offenders would face a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison. If they are convicted a second time for the same crime, they would face a third-degree felony.

But the law wouldn’t apply to Bradley’s two pending cases. Although the Florida Legislature passed the bill, it hasn’t yet been sent to the governor’s office for his signature. It would not go into effect until Oct. 1.

‘A disgusting groper’

Before his arrests, Brickell residents on Facebook had been complaining for months about a man groping and harassing women in the neighborhood, although not everyone called police.

“Watch out for this man — he is a disgusting groper,” one woman wrote in March on the Brickell Living Facebook group, along with several photos of the man.

“He also grabbed me two days ago,” another woman wrote in response. “When I asked him politely to keep his hands to himself, he pushed me. BTW there were A LOT OF PEOPLE passing by, nobody even stopped.”

Miami lawyer Tara Faenza, a former prosecutor, also took to Facebook to recount the man grabbing her buttocks as she walked her dogs in early March. “It was really disgusting. It was a half grope, half caress,” she said in an interview. “It took me off guard. He was kind of smirking, running off, like a jackal.”

Bradley was not arrested until mid-April. One woman told police that on April 18, he grabbed her on the chest as she walked with her daughter and dog.

“I was in a little bit of shock and then it hit me in that split second, it’s the guy from the Facebook group,” Ashleigh Giliberto, 31, said in an interview. “By the time I looked down on my phone, he was gone. He had run away.”

Giliberto, who was 35 weeks pregnant at the time, called police officers, who did not initially find the man. But later that night, officers called to say he’d been taken into custody after groping a second woman.

It’s unclear how many victims called police after their encounters.

So far, the official list of victims only includes the two women that led to the arrests. After the arrests, Faenza also reported her allegations to the State Attorney’s Office, where she used to work.

No others have made reports to police since then, said Miami Police spokeswoman Kenia Fallat. “A lot of times, women don’t think that a crime is being committed, if they’re being touched,” she said. “If someone does that to you, please call police.”

The arrests have nevertheless alarmed and galvanized women who live in Brickell, a hip and growing neighborhood of young professionals just south of downtown. Another man — who drives a Tesla and wears a suit — has been reported recently to police and on Brickell Living driving the streets, masturbating in front of women.

“More people need to speak out,” Faenza said. “The attacks will only get more, more intense and will escalate.”

Giliberto, who has lived in Miami for two years, urged women to call police if they are victimized.

“I don’t know why no one else took the time to make the call and make claim,” Giliberto said. “I know it’s a pain. I know it’s a process. But he’s brave enough to get away with this, what else can he get away with?”