- January 12, 2026
A Cuban national arrested in Flagler County in March 2025 on child sexual abuse charges has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, 70, is in the United States illegally. He was sentenced by Flagler County Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols after Valerio-Rodriguez pled guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor and two counts of lewd or lascivious touching of a minor on Jan. 7.
Once he is released, Valerio-Rodriguez will be on sex offender probation and registration for nine years, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office press release said. The Department of Homeland Security will also deport Valerio-Rodriguez once he is released from the Florida Department of Corrections.
Valerio-Rodriguez, who was living in a tent at the time behind Circle K on Palm Harbor Parkway, was arrested after a 16-year-old girl contacted FCSO deputies in February 2025. She told deputies that the suspect had digitally penetrated her while she was with him in his tent, according to the original arrest report.
The victim told deputies that she had visited Valerio-Rodriguez multiple times from December 2024 until February 2025 for cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana. She said he had kissed her multiple times before the February 2025 incident.
In exchange for pleading guilty on the three counts, prosecutors dropped one count of child abuse against Valerio-Rodriguez, the press release said.
