Third teen accused of rape of 12-year-old girl is behind bars — at least for now
One of the boys charged as adults in the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Overtown remains behind bars as attorneys appeared in court briefly on Thursday.
Xavier Tyson, 15, was arrested last Friday, months after Nelson Nuñez, 13, and Jusiah Jones, 12, were handcuffed. Tyson, who surrendered himself to authorities, is being held without bond at the Metro West Detention Center.
Prosecutors sought to keep him in jail as he awaits trial, citing the gravity of the charges. Nuñez, Jones and Tyson are charged with sexual battery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in connection to the June 18, 2025, rape. Their cases are being handled in adult court; the three boys have pleaded not guilty.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Richard Hersch granted prosecutors’ request to keep Tyson in jail, court records indicate. Tyson did not appear in person during the proceeding. Also on Thursday, Jones’ and Nuñez’s attorneys were allowed more time to prepare for trial.
Tyson is requesting an Arthur hearing, which allows judges to consider setting bonds for defendants charged with crimes that aren’t normally eligible for bail. In an Arthur hearing, the state has to establish that “proof is evident and the presumption great” that the accused person is guilty. That’s a high burden — often considered even greater than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
A hearing about Tyson’s detention is set for June 26.
READ MORE: One of the boys charged in 12-year-old’s rape can bond out of jail, judge rules
In March, Jones was released from jail on total lockdown house arrest, meaning he is monitored around the clock by an ankle monitor. The judge also ordered Jones to stay away from the girl and avoid social media.
A harrowing assault
The rape happened around 10 p.m. in the garden area of the Green Haven Project community at 1160 NW Second Ave., according to a police report.
The girl told Miami Special Victims Unit detectives that Nuñez grabbed her as she left her friend’s house and took her to a couch in the garden. There, Jones and Tyson held her arms and legs down to prevent her from escaping, according to the report.
Nuñez then began raping her while Jones stuffed rocks in her mouth to try to stop her from screaming, detectives said in the report. The horrifying ordeal lasted about 30 minutes, the girl told police, only ending after the boys ran away when they heard the victim’s father calling out her name in the distance, the report says.
The father and a witness, who’s a neighbor of the girl, were the first to report the incident to police, the report alleges. The witness flagged down officers the next day and told them she believed the girl was raped.
She said that between 10 and 10:30 p.m., she was picking up her mail and heard a girl screaming, “Stop. I’m not playing. I’m not playing,” according to the report.
The woman then yelled out into the distance, “Who’s screaming?” she told detectives. She then saw her neighbor, the girl’s father, yelling out for his daughter, the report states.
There was another boy who was with the group, but police say he did not participate in the attack. He told detectives he did not intervene because he “was afraid of getting beat up.”
