A psychologist is facing several charges in Miami-Dade County, including child trafficking, after police said she groomed a 15-year-old girl she met at a Kendall hotel pool and tried to pressure her into having s£x with at least two men.
Maria Ximena Duarte, 45, of North Miami, appeared in court wearing an anti-su!cide vest Monday, August 19, as Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer lamented the accusations as “terrible.”
She was arrested by Miami-Dade police on Sunday, August 18, and was visibly crying in her jail mug shot.
According to an arrest report, Duarte first met the girl last Tuesday, August 13, at the pool of the Aloft Miami Dadeland hotel, located at 7600 N. Kendall Drive, as the teen walked her dog.
Police said Duarte befriended the girl, “quickly gaining her trust” by saying she was a psychologist.
“During the conversation, (she) offered the victim a marijuana cigarette to smoke (and) also bought alcoholic beverages from the hotel’s bar and offered them to the victim, but the victim declined.”
Police said that Duarte told the girl to “come back to her hotel room later that night.”
Authorities said the girl met up with Duarte in her room the next day and said that Duarte “began to take pictures of the victim” and sent them to a man named Pablo, saying that the victim “was 21 years old and willing to have s£x with him.”
The victim told Duarte she was not willing to do that, the report states, but police said Duarte “continued to insist.”
Police said Pablo came to the room and Duarte had sex with him in front of the teen. The report states Duarte had the girl record video of Duarte and the man “while telling the victim that she was teaching her.”
The report states that at some point, a man named Jason, Duarte’s boyfriend, then arrived.
Police said Duarte began to leave the room in an attempt to leave the girl alone with Jason; they said she told Duarte she was “uncomfortable” being alone with him.
At one point, police said the victim overheard Duarte telling her boyfriend, “She’s 15, can you believe that?”
The report states that Duarte pushed the girl back inside, “told her to stay and make Jason feel good” and closed the door.
The girl went into the bathroom to play on her cellphone and, “after some time passed,” exited the bathroom to see Jason exposing himself to her and inviting her to have sex with him.
Police said after the girl declined, he forced her to perform a s£x act.
The girl said she learned that Duarte “would exchange s£x for drugs to satisfy her drug addictions” and “would continuously offer the victim marijuana in order to have her return and engage in various activities while at the hotel with (her),” investigators wrote.
Authorities said the victim reported what happened the next day. The arrest report doesn’t state whether police have identified either of the men or whether they will face charges.
Police said when they went to the hotel Sunday to arrest Duarte, she appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
During Duarte’s court appearance Monday, Glazer said, “The facts alleged in here are terrible facts” as she read the arrest report.
She frequently interrupted Glazer as she asked to have a friend she knew in college represent her in court.
“I’m a psychologist. I’m a PhD. I will lose my license and my life,” Duarte said. “I need help. I’ve never even touched that girl, kissed her.”
Glazer responded with a rebuke.
“You’re freaking out, but you had no problem with the facts alleged in here,” the judge said. “It’s pretty awful.”
She noted, “It’s only probable cause. It’s not the trial.”
Glazer found probable cause to charge Duarte with counts of human trafficking, lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child under 16, lewd and lascivious battery and interference with custody and ordered she remain held without bond pending another court appearance.
The judge also ordered she stay away from and have no contact with the girl.
Duarte was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Monday afternoon.
A woman with the same name appears in Florida Department of Health records as having a “clear/inactive” psychologist license, meaning “the licensed practitioner is not authorized to practice in the state of Florida, but maintains a license.”
That license has been active since 2021 and has no associated disciplinary action.
Other licenses listed under the name “Maria Ximena Duarte” include an active mental health counsellor license and a null-and-void registered mental health counsellor intern license.
