Crime & Justice

Florida woman forced teenage girl to record her having sex: police

'I'm a psychologist, I'm a PhD. I will lose my license and my life,' the suspect said in court

Maria Duarte
Maria Duarte, 45, is accused of human trafficking and a slew of other charges in connection with last week's incident, jail records indicate. Miami-Dade Corrections

A Florida woman who claimed to be a psychologist allegedly forced a teen girl she met at a Miami hotel pool to record her having sex with a man, said police.

Maria Duarte, 45, is accused of human trafficking and a slew of other charges in connection with last week's incident, jail records indicate.

She has not yet entered a plea.

"I'm a psychologist, I'm a PhD. I will lose my license and my life. I need help. I've never even touched that girl or kissed her," Duarte told the judge during her probable cause hearing Monday, according to CBS News.

Duarte allegedly met the 15-year-old victim at the Aloft Miami Dadeland hotel last Tuesday while the girl was walking her dog.

Duarte allegedly "quickly gain[ed] her trust" by telling the victim she was a psychologist, said police.

"The victim grew comfortable with (Duarte) and confided in her about issues in her personal life and was told that they had shared life experiences," the police report read, according to WPLG-TV. "During the conversation, (she) offered the victim a marijuana cigarette to smoke (and) also bought alcoholic beverages from the hotel's bar and offered them to the victim, but the victim declined."

The girl returned to Duarte's hotel room the next day and the suspect sent pictures of the victim to a man named Pablo, stating she "was 21 years old and willing to have sex with him," alleged police.

Pablo arrived at the hotel and subsequently had sex with Duarte, who forced the teen to record the pair "while telling the victim that she was teaching her."

Duarte's boyfriend, Jason, later showed up, and she allegedly encouraged the victim to have sex with him. The girl declined.

Duarte allegedly offered to "exchange sex for drugs to satisfy her (the girl's) drug addictions" and "would continuously offer the victim marijuana in order to have her return and engage in various activities while at the hotel with (her)," police stated in the report, according to the outlet.

Citing Florida Department of Health records, Duarte appears to have a "clear/inactive" psychologist license, meaning she does not have authority to practice psychology in the state, but has a license, according to WPLG.

Tags
Human trafficking, Florida State, Psychologist, Crime
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