Two months after being arrested in a microhotel in Palm Coast on a felony charge of interference with custody of a minor, Richard Tapia, a former political science professor at Miami Dade College has been charged with three counts of lewd or lascivious battery sexual acts involving a child.
Tapia was arrested on Sept. 28 in Palm Beach County. According to a X post from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, a girl told officers that Tapia raped her multiple times and forensic testing confirmed Tapia’s DNA was present.
He is being held on a $350,000 bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility in Bunnell, Fla.
According to Flagler County court records, Richard Tapia is accused of unlawfully engaging in sexual activity “with a person 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age.”
“We believe there may be other victims and are encouraging anyone with information on Tapia to contact the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at 386-313-4911,” the social media post also mentions.
Police originally arrested Tapia on July 22 in Palm Coast when an underage girl’s mother reported to authorities that her daughter was transported from Jacksonville to a hotel room by a man she met on an app.
At the time, he was charged with interference with custody of a minor. Miami Dade College terminated Tapia’s employment after they learned about the arrest. He worked at the College for more than 16 years.
The new charges were amended on September 22 following a sexual offense investigation.
“The additional allegations are deeply troubling, and the conduct described is reprehensible,” the College said in a statement Monday.
This is the third arrest of an MDC employee in relation to sexual offenses involving minors in the last three months. In July, Roger Ignacio Sanchez, who was an administrative assistant at Kendall Campus, was arrested for sharing child sexual abuse content of minors online. Christian Demostenes Constantiny, who was an adjunct math professor, was arrested in August on the same charges.
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