A Miami Beach doctor arrested last year on human trafficking and a dozen other charges involving alleged sexual activity with an underage girl pleaded guilty to only one count of custody interference on Thursday.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office dropped 12 out of 13 criminal charges for Dr. Jefferey David Kamlet as part of a plea deal agreed to at a hearing Thursday morning.
As part of the plea deal, Kamlet must surrender his medical license and received one day of probation.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Initially Kamlet was going to enter a “no contest” and didn’t have to admit his guilt. However, Miami-Dade Judge Ellen Sue Venzer warned she was not going to accept that deal.
After a quick discussion with his attorneys, Kamlet said he was guilty.
Kamlet, 69 was arrested last March on charges including human trafficking, using a computer to lure a child to engage in sexual conduct, soliciting unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and delivering a controlled substance to a child, Miami-Dade court records showed.
Local
According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, the charges against Kamlet stem from his involvement with two girls, ages 16 and 17.
The 17-year-old's mother had contacted the Broward Sheriff's Office after both teens had gone missing.
The mother of the 16-year-old was able to track her daughter's cellphone to a Miami Beach condo, and when police responded, they met Kamlet.
Kamlet told police the girls had wanted to stay the night with him to escape a man with a gun who was trying to prostitute them, authorities said.
Kamlet said he'd met the girls on Tinder, and that they showed him identification that said they were 18, prosecutors said.
But the two girls indicated they didn't have identification, and officers told Kamlet that they would be taken to headquarters and returned to their parents since they're minors.
Police said while interviewing at least one of the teens, "sexual contact with Kamlet was described in detail," prosecutors said.
After police recovered the missing girls from his apartment, Kamlet and the 17-year-old girl continued contact via social media apps, authorities said.
Kamlet again solicited and purchased sex from the 17-year-old, taking her back to his condominium, even allegedly giving her cocaine, prosecutors said.
Court documents said Kamlet agreed to pay the 17-year-old $600 to have sex on at least two different occasions. The arrest warrant said Kamlet texted the teenager, “they can own the world if she stays off drugs and they have chemistry."
On Thursday, Kamlet’s attorneys said the incident was overblown.
"This was an incident blown way out of proportion, it wasn't what it appeared to be at first and the state finally understood that and agreed," defense attorney Herbert Cohen said.
"He pled guilty to interfering with custody, that means a 17-year-old ran away to escape something and literally sought refuge there that's all," said Jayne Weintraub, another attorney representing Kamlet.
In a statement, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said one of the alleged victims in the case died, which impacted the prosecution.
“The criminal case against Jeffrey Kamlet was severely impacted by the death of one victim, the focus of the Human Trafficking charges, and the unwillingness of the second victim to continue her participation in the criminal court process," the statement read. "The lack of testimony from the victims severely weakened the ability of prosecutors to prove all the filed charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The victim’s next of kin approved the plea which was presented to the court, indicating that such action would bring a sense of closure to the victim and her family."
Cohen also spoke about a woman connected to Kamlet’s investigation who died.
"She wasn’t killed from what we know. She passed away because she was involved with some bad people, which our client tried to help her out with. So that is all we know about it," said Cohen.
When NBC6 asked if the woman found dead was a victim, Cohen responded, "She was alleged to be involved in the case but she wasn’t a victim of his."
