Two South Florida men accused of raping a teenager, filming the assault, uploading the video to OnlyFans and selling it for profit took a plea deal.
Two South Florida men walked into a Miami-Dade courtroom facing more than 90 years in prison for allegedly raping a teenager, filming the assault, uploading the video to OnlyFans and selling it for profit, police said.
However, after two years since their arrest, state attorneys claimed they were unable to prove most of the sexual violent charges without a reasonable doubt if it were to go to trial. Therefore Bendjy Charles and Michelson Romelus were offered a plea deal.
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WATCH HEREOn Friday, records show Charles and Romelus pleaded guilty to only one misdemeanor charge of having sex with a teenager, filming it, and posting it on OnlyFans without her consent. The two friends were sentenced to one year of probation, dodging any prison time.
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Joshua Novak, an attorney representing the victim, said his client did not support the state attorney's offer and they wanted a trial. The victim was willing to testify in front of a potential jury.
“The evidence is clear,” Novak said. “There’s a video of the entire incident in which my client says no. She pushes these men off. She tells them to get off of her and they rape her and sodomize her twice.”
In a letter to the court, the victim told a judge the men committed a horror. She claimed consent was never given and instead, they raped her and laughed about it.
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“The evidence is clear that this was a consensual threesome. This was done with her consent,” said Sabino Jauregui, a defense attorney representing Charles. “This only came to light once they decided to sue OnlyFans.”
Records show the victim is suing the co-defendants and Fenix Internet, LLC, the owner and operator of OnlyFans.com. The victim is seeking $30,000 in personal injury damages.
Romelus and Charles denied to comment after pleading guilty.
Romelus told NBC6 that the reason he didn’t want to comment was because he hadn’t told his fans on social media about the incident.
“Thing is, I’m an influencer,” Romelus said.
The civil case is still open.
