14-year-old fights off man trying to drag her behind gas station, Florida cops say
A 14-year-old girl fought off a man accused of trying to kidnap and assault her at a gas station, Florida authorities said.
Jerry Cherisme, 33, is now charged with kidnapping, lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16 years of age, battery and child abuse, according to court records and an Oct. 1 news release from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Cherisme’s attorney information wasn’t available in court records Oct. 2.
On Sept. 30, the teen’s grandmother asked her to walk to a BP gas station in Port St. Lucie to buy butter for dinner, deputies wrote in an arrest affidavit.
After buying the butter, the girl said hello to someone she knew outside the convenience store when Cherisme came up behind her, bear hugged her and grabbed her wrist, deputies said.
He referenced his genitalia and told her it was his birthday, then said, “I have something to show you,” according to witness accounts obtained by deputies.
Holding onto the girl, Cherisme tried to drag her behind the convenience store as she was “screaming and begging” repeatedly for him to let her go, but he ignored her, according to court records.
Eventually, she wrenched herself free and ran back into the gas station, where she reported that a man had tried to kidnap and sexually assault her, St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WESH.
The cashier told deputies she saw the girl outside trying to hit the man with the butter during the incident, then later the teen ran back inside crying, and the cashier gave her a phone to call for help, according to the affidavit. The girl left and came back with her father and grandmother, witnesses told deputies, according to the affidavit.
Cherisme fled, but deputies found him in a neighborhood nearby and took him into custody, body camera footage shows.
“I believe had this young female not gotten away from him, she would have been sexually assaulted by this predator,” Pearson told WESH.
Cherisme left the teen with bruising and redness on her wrist and arm, deputies said.
Port St. Lucie is about a 50-mile drive north from West Palm Beach.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 3:05 PM with the headline "14-year-old fights off man trying to drag her behind gas station, Florida cops say."