What to Know
- Jackson Etienne, 49, was arrested on kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and attempted lewd and lascivious molestation charges, police said
- Police said Etienne picked up a girl near North Miami Middle School, and tried to lure girls into his car near Sabal Palm Elementary and JFK Middle
- "A predator has been taken off the streets and will be prevented from victimizing any more children," Miami-Dade Schools Police Chief Edwin Lopez said in a statement
A man accused of kidnapping and trying to molesting a girl near her North Miami school is also accused of approaching multiple girls outside Miami-Dade schools and trying to lure them into his car, authorities said.
Jackson Etienne, 49, was arrested earlier this month on kidnapping, attempted lewd and lascivious molestation of a child, and a half-dozen attempted kidnapping charges, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
The first reported incident happened in October 2019, when a girl who was walking to to North Miami Middle School on Northeast 137th Street was told by her friend that he had called a ride for her and she would be picked up by a man in a red car, arrest affidavits said.
The girl said a red car pulled up and the man inside, later identified as Etienne, told her to get in, and when she did the man asked her where she needed to go. The girl said the man started speaking in Creole, then told her he loved her and "wanted to show her love," the affidavits said.
Etienne tried to touch the girl's privates but the girl moved his hands away, and when he tried to give her money she refused, the affidavits said. The girl was able to get away from the man and wrote down his license plate, the affidavits said.
Jackson is also accused of approaching multiple girls near Gertrude K. Edelman Sabal Palm Elementary School on Northeast 7th Avenue and John F. Kennedy Middle School on Northeast 167th Street.
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One victim said she had been harassed on three separate occasions between December 2019 and January by a man in a red Nissan Altima near Sabal Palm Elementary, the affidavits said. The girl said the first time he "persistently asked and terrorized her to get in his vehicle, while slowly driving beside her," the affidavits said.
The second time he was driving near the girl and repeatedly asked the girl to get in his car, saying he could give her a ride, the affidavits said. The third time, the victim was walking with her little sister and the man slowed down his car, rolled down the windows and looked at her, the affidavits said.
The girl was able to get a video of the car with a partial license plate, the affidavits said.
A second girl told investigators that she was approached by a man in a Nissan near JFK Middle in January, and said that he tried to lure her into the car by waving $6 at her, the affidavits said. She said she saw him a second time, when he pulled his car up next to her and nodded his head for her to come closer, but she told him to leave her alone and he drove away, the affidavits said.
A third girl said she was walking to school near JFK Middle when she realized she was being followed by a red Nissan Altima, and the man inside offered her $40 and persistently asked her to get in the car, the affidavits said.
During photo lineups, all of the victims were able to identify Etienne as the man who approached them, the affidavits said. He was arrested on Feb. 14 by Miami-Dade Schools Police.
"A predator has been taken off the streets and will be prevented from victimizing any more children," Miami-Dade Schools Police Chief Edwin Lopez said in a statement. "Whether incidents happen inside of our schools or outside of our campuses, as was the case here, Miami-Dade Schools Police detectives will take all measures necessary to protect our students from harm. I commend the investigators who worked tirelessly on this case. We will work with prosecutors to ensure this individual is prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Etienne remained behind bars without bond Tuesday, jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
“A monster, a person that needs and should be in in jail forever, for the rest of his life," said Ciari Joseph, a family member of one of the victims. "You’re kidnapping people, that’s a person, a person’s child, a sister, a family member.”
