Haitian man jailed for lewd and lascivious behavior and trying to kidnap young girl in Port St. Lucie

On October 1, Florida’s St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a local man who was taken into custody on Monday night and accused of trying to kidnap a young girl at a gas station located in the 7900 block of South US Highway 1 in Port St. Lucie.  The suspect in this incident, identified as Jerry Cherisme, is facing charges of attempted kidnapping and lewd and lascivious of a minor.

According to law enforcement: “… Cherisme, approached the 16-year-old victim from behind, wrapped his arms around her, and proceeded to make lewd and lascivious comments referencing his birthday and the size of his genitals while attempting to pull her behind a building. The victim fought her way free, ran back into the gas station, and notified law enforcement. Cherisme fled from the scene and was located and arrested within minutes by our Real Time Crime Center detectives.”

Cherisme was born in Haiti. He’s been in the United States since 2018 and currently has permanent residence status. Officials don’t have any documented criminal history, but believe he is homeless and living in the Port St. Lucie area.

Cherisme is in custody at the St. Lucie County Jail on the following charges: Kidnapping, Lewd and Lascivious Behavior on a victim 12 to 16 years of age, Battery, amongst other charges.

“I have no doubt that Cherisme’s intentions were to sexually assault this young teenaged victim,” said Sheriff Keith Pearson. “His behavior is horrendous and repulsive and will not be tolerated here in St. Lucie County. Our message to the community has always been if you see something say something. Yesterday was a perfect example of this. With the help of our community, deputies were able to put Cherisme behind bars where he belongs.”

If you recognize Cherisme and believe you may be a victim, please contact your local law enforcement office.

You can see video of his arrest and comments from the Sheriff’s Office here

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(Source and Jerry Cherisme booking photo: St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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