Neighbors of a Miami Beach condo react to a doctor’s human trafficking allegations. NBC 6’s Niko Clemmons reports
A Miami Beach doctor has been arrested on human trafficking and other charges involving alleged sexual activity with an underage girl, court records showed.
Dr. Jefferey David Kamlet, 68, was arrested Thursday on more than half a dozen charges including human trafficking, using a computer to lure a child to engage in sexual conduct, soliciting unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and delivering a controlled substance to a child, Miami-Dade court records showed.
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According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, the charges against Kamlet stem from his involvement with two girls, ages 16 and 17, between April and August of last year.
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The 17-year-old's mother had contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office after both teens had gone missing.
The mother of the 16-year-old was able to track her daughter's cellphone to a Miami Beach condo, and when police responded, they met Kamlet.
Kamlet told police the girls had wanted to stay the night with him to escape a man with a gun who was trying to prostitute them, authorities said.
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Kamlet said he'd met the girls on Tinder, and that they showed him identification that said they were 18, prosecutors said.
But the two girls indicated they didn't have identification, and officers told Kamlet that they would be taken to headquarters and returned to their parents since they're minors.
Police said while interviewing at least one of the teens, "sexual contact with Kamlet was described in detail," prosecutors said.
After police recovered the missing girls from his apartment, Kamlet and the 17-year-old girl continued contact via social media apps, authorities said.
Kamlet again solicited and purchased sex from the 17-year-old, taking her back to his condominium, even allegedly giving her cocaine, prosecutors said.
Court documents said Kamlet agreed to pay the 17-year-old $600 to have sex on at least two different occasions. The arrest warrant said Kamlet texted the teenager, “they can own the world if she stays off drugs and they have chemistry."
In court Friday, Kamlet's attorney sought to have a bond set, arguing he's not a flight risk.
Kamlet pleaded with the judge to let him go.
"Your honor, I think if I spend the weekend here I die,” Kamlet said.
In court, it was revealed Kamlet has been a doctor in Florida for more than 30 years. His listed office is off of 41st Street in Miami Beach.
People who live at the Diamonds Condominium describe the news as scary. A woman who only wanted to be identified as Iris said she saw Kamlet walking around often.
"It's frightening, we have lots of families here, little kids, it's frightening. It's horrible," she said. "He looked like he was off. I wouldn't want somebody like that to live here."
"A mother’s fear for the well-being of her daughter helped expose the alleged illegal activities of an individual who may have felt that his wealth and prominence gave him license to do anything,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “He was wrong. This arrest is another sad example of how easily our children can be targeted for use and abuse. I am proud of the superb work done by the Miami Beach Police Department and the members of my Human Trafficking Task Force as they work to stop those who feel they have a right to abuse our children.”
