A former Miami Dade College professor, who worked at the school for more than 16 years, was arrested on a felony charge of interference with custody of a minor after the girl’s mother said he took her from Jacksonville to a hotel in Palm Coast on July 22, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Department arrest affidavit.
The mother told authorities she believes her daughter met 47-year-old Richard Tapia on an app. According to the police report, Tapia’s cell phone, shirt, shorts, socks and shoes were seized as evidence and “there is a pending investigation referencing a sex offense.”
When reached by The Reporter, Tapia’s lawyer declined to comment; Tapia did not answer calls from the paper.
According to the arrest affidavit, the mother told law enforcement she was able to ping her daughter’s location, tracking her to a hotel room in Palm Coast.
The arrest report states that while the mother was giving police live updates on her daughter’s location, she heard a man telling her, “To get out the room.”
Police found the girl in a back stairwell and located Tapia in the main hotel lobby. Tapia remained silent.
Miami Dade College officials said Tapia’s employment was terminated several weeks ago “upon learning of the matter.”
“The allegations are deeply disturbing and wholly inconsistent with the values and standards of our institution,” the College said in a statement.
Tapia served as an adjunct professor at MDC for three years before being promoted to a full-time professor of political science and international relations in 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was chairperson of the social sciences and criminal justice departments at Eduardo J. Padrón Campus from 2020-21.
During his tenure at MDC, he was also actively involved in politics. He ran for a Florida House seat as a Democrat in 2018, hosted an MDC-TV show to provide non-partisan political information in 2020 and advised the SOS Cuba club based at North Campus in 2021.
Tapia has also served as a member of the Zoning and Code Enforcement Boards for the City of Miami, the Miami-Dade County Planning Advisory Board and was a teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
According to his case summary, Tapia posted bond and entered a not guilty plea.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 25 at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell, Fla., in Flagler County.
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