Carlos Jean remains jailed after police said another girl reported a similar encounter.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL — A second girl has come forward after police arrested a 37-year-old man accused of molesting a 12-year-old near Carol City Middle School, leading detectives to file another child molestation charge Thursday.
The new report expands the case against Carlos Jean, of Biscayne Gardens, after Miami Gardens police said the first allegation involved a girl walking to school Monday morning. Investigators said the second girl, age 15, went to police after seeing a news report about Jean’s arrest. Jean remained jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as to be set.
The first case began after a 12-year-old girl told investigators she was walking to school Monday when Jean approached her near Carol City Middle School and touched her inappropriately. Police said the encounter was recorded on camera. Jean was charged in that case with battery and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 16. The report did not say whether Jean knew the girl before the encounter or whether the school was placed under any special security measures after the allegation.
Detectives said the second report came Thursday, three days after the alleged school-area encounter. According to an arrest report, the 15-year-old was at home with her mother when she saw a television story about Jean and went immediately to the Miami Gardens Police Department. The girl told detectives that Jean had approached her on March 17 in a burgundy Kia and exposed himself while seated inside the vehicle. The report states Jean made a sexual comment as she walked past the vehicle, then followed her home and drove past her house several times.
The second allegation added a separate charge of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 16. Jean appeared in court Thursday on the new charge, jail records show. The available records did not list a final bond amount, an attorney for Jean or a plea. Police have not released the names of either girl, and the reports did not include details about any physical injuries. Investigators also did not say whether they are reviewing other reports, additional surveillance video or vehicle records tied to the burgundy Kia described by the 15-year-old.
The two allegations center on Miami Gardens, a northwest Miami-Dade County city where school routes, neighborhood streets and busy corridors often overlap during morning hours. Carol City Middle School is one of the area landmarks named in the case. Police said the first reported encounter happened near the school while the 12-year-old was on her way to class. The second girl’s account described a separate March incident that began from a vehicle and continued near her home. The time gap between the March report and Monday’s alleged encounter became part of the case after the second teen recognized Jean from the news coverage and contacted police.
The case is now moving through Miami-Dade County’s criminal court system, with Jean held at the county’s main jail complex in west Miami-Dade. Prosecutors will decide how to proceed on the charges tied to each alleged victim. Detectives may continue gathering statements, video and records before the case reaches later court hearings. The arrest reports cited by investigators describe the girls’ statements as the basis for the new allegations, but many details remain unknown, including whether police believe there are more potential victims and whether Jean’s vehicle was seized or searched.
The report of a second victim came after a public account of the first arrest aired Wednesday. Police said the 15-year-old saw that report while she was with her mother and then went to the department. Her statement gave detectives a second timeline and a separate location to examine. The arrest form quoted the girl as saying Jean made a sexual remark during the March 17 encounter before driving behind her and passing her house more than once. The quick report after the broadcast became a key turn in the investigation, changing the case from one alleged school-route incident to two allegations involving minors.
Jean remained in custody Friday, May 15, as the new charge awaited further court action. The next major step is the setting of bond and the filing decisions that will determine how the two allegations move forward in court.
Author note: Last updated May 15, 2026.