MIAMI, FL - Three boys have been charged as adults in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl at a Miami community garden.
The alleged incident occurred on June 18, 2025, in the Green Haven Project community garden. The boys, ages 12, 13, and 15, were charged as adults in February 2026, PEOPLE reported. The three boys allegedly involved have been identified as Jusiah Jones, 12, Nelson Nunez, 13, and Xavier Tyson, 15.
Per Miami Police Department (MPD) spokesperson Mike Vega, all three boys are "being charged as adults." The three boys were initially arrested on juvenile charges, but have since been charged as adults following a grand jury indictment that was issued on Wednesday, February 25.
Jones is charged with aggravated battery and false imprisonment. Nunez is charged with sexual battery on a minor by a minor and kidnapping. Tyson is charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
The girl said she was walking home from a friend's place in Miami's Overtown neighborhood when she saw four boys, including Jones and Nunez, according to MPD records.
Nunez allegedly grabbed the girl and brought her to a couch in the Green Haven Project community garden, where she said Jones and Tyson (who was 14 at the time) "held her by the arms and legs, preventing her from leaving" as Nunez started raping her.
The girl yelled for the boys to stop and said "it hurts," leading Jones to allegedly fill her mouth with rocks in an effort to silence her. As "she was screaming for help," Vega said, "one of them grabs rocks from the ground and put them in her mouth, so she shuts up."
The alleged rape continued for 30 minutes after this, according to police. It only stopped after Jones, Nunez, and Tyson heard the victim's father, who went looking for the 12-year-old, yelling her name, and they fled the scene. The three boys were arrested the following day.
There was a fourth boy on the scene who witnessed the alleged rape, and he later told police that he "did not intervene because he was outnumbered and was afraid of getting beat up." There was also another witness to the incident, who reported it to an MPD patrol officer.
The alleged incident happened outside of operational hours after "an opening caused by nearby construction actively created unintended access," the Green Haven Project said in a statement at the time.
"It's heartbreaking, and I can only imagine the pain that a 12-year-old is gonna have for the rest of her life, knowing what occurred to her," Vega said.
Jones and Nunez were booked into the Metro West Detention Center on Thursday, February 26, to face adult charges. A judge ordered the two be held without bond until their next court date during an appearance in adult court, which took place on February 27.
The alleged incident occurred on June 18, 2025, in the Green Haven Project community garden. The boys, ages 12, 13, and 15, were charged as adults in February 2026, PEOPLE reported. The three boys allegedly involved have been identified as Jusiah Jones, 12, Nelson Nunez, 13, and Xavier Tyson, 15.
Per Miami Police Department (MPD) spokesperson Mike Vega, all three boys are "being charged as adults." The three boys were initially arrested on juvenile charges, but have since been charged as adults following a grand jury indictment that was issued on Wednesday, February 25.
Jones is charged with aggravated battery and false imprisonment. Nunez is charged with sexual battery on a minor by a minor and kidnapping. Tyson is charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
The girl said she was walking home from a friend's place in Miami's Overtown neighborhood when she saw four boys, including Jones and Nunez, according to MPD records.
Nunez allegedly grabbed the girl and brought her to a couch in the Green Haven Project community garden, where she said Jones and Tyson (who was 14 at the time) "held her by the arms and legs, preventing her from leaving" as Nunez started raping her.
The girl yelled for the boys to stop and said "it hurts," leading Jones to allegedly fill her mouth with rocks in an effort to silence her. As "she was screaming for help," Vega said, "one of them grabs rocks from the ground and put them in her mouth, so she shuts up."
The alleged rape continued for 30 minutes after this, according to police. It only stopped after Jones, Nunez, and Tyson heard the victim's father, who went looking for the 12-year-old, yelling her name, and they fled the scene. The three boys were arrested the following day.
There was a fourth boy on the scene who witnessed the alleged rape, and he later told police that he "did not intervene because he was outnumbered and was afraid of getting beat up." There was also another witness to the incident, who reported it to an MPD patrol officer.
The alleged incident happened outside of operational hours after "an opening caused by nearby construction actively created unintended access," the Green Haven Project said in a statement at the time.
"It's heartbreaking, and I can only imagine the pain that a 12-year-old is gonna have for the rest of her life, knowing what occurred to her," Vega said.
Jones and Nunez were booked into the Metro West Detention Center on Thursday, February 26, to face adult charges. A judge ordered the two be held without bond until their next court date during an appearance in adult court, which took place on February 27.
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