ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) -- The St Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrested a 33-year-old man for attempting to kidnap a teen girl at a local gas station.
It happened Monday night at the 7000 block of US 1 outside a BP gas station in Port St. Lucie. Sheriff Keith Pearson identified the suspect as 33-year-old Jerry Cherisme.
Pearson told reporters the 14-year-old girl went to the gas station to get stuff for dinner and had stopped out front to talk to a friend when the suspect approached her from behind.
"He physically grabbed this girl, grabbed her in a bear hug from what I was being told, tried bringing her back behind the business where the public couldn't see it," Pearson said.
He said the girl fought back and was able to break free.
"She got away from him and he fled when the yelling and screaming took place," Pearson said.
According to the arrest affidavit, the girl ran inside the store and called for help. She did sustain minor injuries to her wrist from being dragged by the suspect.
"I believe, had this young female not gotten away from him, she would have been sexually assaulted by this predator," Pearson said. "For whatever the reasons, he targeted this young lady."
Pearson said with the help of witnesses, deputies were able to track down the suspect and arrest him nearby.
"This individual here belongs behind bars, and hopefully we can keep him there for a very long time," he added.
According to Pearson, Cherisme came to the United States from Hati in 2018 and is believed to be homeless. Pearson said, from what they can tell, Cherisme has the paperwork that proves he was legally admitted to the United States.
"But again, whether you're an illegal immigrant, whether you're a resident of our community, that action is not tolerable. It's incomprehensible, disgusting, and there's no place in our community for that person," he said.
When they interviewed Cherisme, Pearson said he confessed and admitted to finding the girl attractive.
"The statement that she made to us was that he had told her that today's my birthday, I have a large [expletive] and then he grabbed her," Pearson explained. Pearson said the suspect's actions will have a lasting impact.
"She's going to be traumatized. I mean, that's the reality of it. Even though nothing happened, this is still something that's going to be on the back of her mind," he said. "It's going to be something that's on the back of every parent's mind in our community when their kid goes to the gas station, that there are people out there like that."
He said his department will continue doing everything in its power to fight back and keep the community safe.
Pearson also said the young girl did everything correctly and did an amazing job fighting back against the suspect.
Cherisme is facing charges of attempted kidnapping, lewd and lascivious behavior to a victim aged 12-16, misdemeanor battery, and felony attempted cruelty towards a child.
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