MDC professor arrested at Florida hotel for ‘interference with child custody’

A longtime political science professor at Miami Dade College was arrested last month in a Flagler County hotel for “interference with custody of minor,” a felony crime, after the girl’s mother claimed he transported her from Jacksonville to a Palm Coast hotel.

Read more Teen shot at guard then went ‘car hopping’ with accomplice: South Florida cops

An arrest report from July 22 identifies Richard “Rick” Tapia as having allegedly met a minor child on an app and taken her from Jacksonville to a hotel along I-95 in Palm Coast, the largest city in Flagler County, about 290 miles north of Miami.

Tapia has pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial. Neither he nor his attorney in the case would comment when contacted by the Herald.

A spokesperson with Miami Dade College, where Tapia worked for more than 15 years, told the Herald Friday afternoon that the institution is aware of Tapia’s arrest and that he is no longer employed there.

According to the report, the girl’s mother contacted the local police department after her daughter told her of her whereabouts, and said that family members were able to ping her exact location. She told police “her daughter was with ‘a grown’ man.”

While on the phone with police, the mother said “she heard a man telling her, ‘To get out the room,’” the responding officer wrote in the report.

The girl was found in the back stairwell and police found Tapia in the main hotel lobby, according to the report. Tapia remained silent during the arrest.

Tapia’s clothing and cell phone were seized for evidence. Police wrote in the report that “there is a pending investigation referencing a sex offense.”

Read more Construction crane collapses onto high-rise pool deck. No one injured

Tapia began working at Miami Dade College in 2010, gaining tenure in 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He has also been involved in local politics, as both a candidate and a member of community boards.

In 2018, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to replace former state Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr. in House District 103, falling to one-term representative Cindy Polo.

He also dropped out of a race for the District 6 school board seat, and ran unsuccessfully for a Miami City Commission seat in 2001, when he was just 21 years old.

Tapia has also been a member of Miami-Dade County’s Planning Advisory Board.

Prior to last month’s arrest, Tapia had no criminal record beyond traffic violations.

According to Flagler County Court records, Tapia’s arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 25.

Read more ‘Bring them to school’: Superintendent encourages Haitians to return amid TPS fears