Publix employee accused of sexual misconduct with teen girl
MIAMI - A South Florida man is on house arrest following two felony charges.
On Saturday, 25-year-old Keyven Worthy was charged with lewd/lascivious battery and molestation on a child between 12-16 years old.
The victim's family reached out to CBS4 News to share their pain in hopes of helping others.
Wishing to remain anonymous out of safety for the child and family, CBS4 spoke with the aunt who still cannot fathom her niece was, in her words, preyed upon at the Silver Palms Shopping plaza.
"Helpless," said the aunt. "Can't change what happened. I don't know where to go. Don't know what to do."
The victim's aunt shares her heartbreak over what happened.
The judge on Saturday issued a stay away order to Worthy from the alleged 13-year-old victim.
"Cannot have contact directly or indirectly with this individual," said the judge. "That means you can't call, text, send a message, or third party."
The aunt says her niece first met Worthy last Tuesday, August 30th. She says the teen went to a store at the Silver Palms Shopping Plaza in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Through an attorney, Worthy said in bond court that he is a Publix employee. There is a Publix in that shopping center.
The arrest form says Worthy "fondled her buttocks and kissed her on the right cheek" while walking at the plaza.
"She gave him her number," said the aunt about that first meeting. "He didn't disclose his name or anything else. He started pursuing her via text."
Then on Thursday, the family says there was another encounter, which the mom discovered in real-time from her iPhone.
"When my sister asked where she was, she [the victim] said, 'I was on my way home.' But my sister's telling me she's moving pretty fast. She must be in a car. And I'm like, a car?"
The mom tracked the daughter to William Randolf Community Park. By the time the mom arrived, her daughter was gone.
Later that night, the daughter revealed text message exchanges between herself and Worthy. The family says that's when they realized there was a sexual encounter.
"So explicit," said the aunt about the texts. "And you know you're talking to a child. These are conversations as an adult made me red in the cheeks.
Police say in the report, "The defendant confessed."
He was arrested and booked in the early hours of Saturday morning.
"She's a child," exclaimed the aunt. "She doesn't understand. She wants to blame herself. I want her to know it's not her fault. She did nothing wrong. He's a predator."
The aunt shares that it's important to warn children about the dangers of meeting strangers.
"You don't want your child living in fear," said the aunt. "But you want your child to be aware of what could happen."
CBS4 contacted Publix to see if they knew of Worthy's charges and if he's still employed.
Worthy is on house arrest with the ability to go to work. We also asked detectives if they believed there were more victims. We have not yet heard back.
