The mother of the 11-year-old girl who was the victim of a distressing incident that occurred in a park has spoken out about the traumatic event that took place with her daughter on Wednesday, July 22, at the Quail Roost park, in southwest Miami-Dade.
On that day, the Cuban Edeimi Edenildo Alfonso-Rodríguez, 56 years old, was allegedly masturbating while looking directly at his daughter, who was playing in the swing area.
The testimony, gathered by reporter Tayana García from Univision, reveals the anguish of a family that frequented that recreational space daily and never imagined it would become the scene of an alleged sexual offense against their daughter.
"Rage, pain, discomfort"
The mother candidly described what she felt upon hearing about what happened.
“Anger, pain, discomfort. The least you would expect is for the girl to be playing when a man comes to do such a thing in a park where thousands of children play,” she described.
The family included Quail Roost Park as part of their daily routine.
«We come to this park literally every day», he stated, which makes it even harder to process what happened.
According to his account, Alfonso-Rodríguez arrived in his vehicle, parked in front of the park, and positioned himself under the slide, a spot hidden from the view of adults but with a direct line of sight to the children.
Witnesses claim that he remained there for about 30 minutes before being discovered.
The mother did not hide the emotional damage that the incident left on her daughter.
"The girl is currently traumatized. The first thing she told me was, 'I don't want to see him.' I mean, that's already a trauma for my child," lamented the mother of the minor, who believes that this immediate reaction is the most painful evidence of the harm caused to her daughter by the alleged predator.
The escape and the change of clothes
When the parents present realized what was happening, they confronted the accused, who fled immediately.
“My husband chased after him and called the police. We provided all the information to the authorities, who eventually found him. By the time they found him, he had already changed his clothing. He knew what was coming," the mother recounted.
Alfonso-Rodríguez was arrested that same night at 8:30 p.m. (local time) at the intersection of SW 113 Place and SW 189 Terrace in Miami.
"Was he here to take a child?"
Beyond the act itself, the mother expressed a concern that goes deeper: the possibility that the accused's intentions could be even more serious.
“Wine, he parked the car... You don’t know what intentions that man had. Was he coming to do something evil like what he did, or was he coming to take a child?”, he questioned with evident distress.
The accused, in prison with immigration detention
Alfonso-Rodríguez appeared before the court on July 23 facing charges of lewd exhibition in the presence of a minor under 16 years old, under Florida Statute 800.04(7)(A)(B), a second-degree felony that can result in up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The bond was set at $7,500, although the defendant only needs to pay 10% to be released.
At the time of the report, he was still incarcerated at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK), and he also has an active immigration hold.
This incident adds to a troubling pattern in South Florida: in April 2026, three Cubans were arrested in Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah for indecent exposure.
Previously, in November 2025, ICE arrested a 72-year-old Cuban in Miami identified as a sexual predator.
In response to this trend, Florida approved a package of harsher criminal laws in July of this year, which includes a ban for those convicted of crimes against minors from living within 1,000 feet of parks and playgrounds, as well as harsher penalties for such offenses.
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