A Miami-Dade Police lieutenant and former high-ranking union member allegedly forced his way into a woman's hotel room before he sexually battered her, according to a police report released Monday.
Lt. John Anthony Jenkins, 50, turned himself in Friday to face sexual battery charges in the incident that allegedly took place last month in Palm Beach Gardens.
Jenkins' attorney said he looks forward to have a chance in court to "clear his name and reputation," the Miami Herald reported.
“This incident involves two consenting adults who have known each other for many years. Anything that may have occurred was consensual," attorney Heidi Perlet said in a statement. "A married man who is invited by a married woman to her hotel room after a day of partying and drinking at a PBA event, may be poor judgment, but is certainly not rape."
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The report said Jenkins, who recently resigned as executive vice president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, had been staying at the PGA National Resort & Spa while he attended last month's PBA Officer's Ball at the Trump National Jupiter Golf Club.
The alleged victim, an employee of the Florida PBA, was also attending the event and staying at the same hotel, the report said.
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According to the report, the woman said she had been in the hotel bar with co-workers after the gala and had decided to go to her room to sleep when her friend asked her if she wanted him to walk her to her room as he had the previous few nights, but Jenkins said he was also leaving and would walk with her.
The woman said that when she opened the door to her room, Jenkins followed her inside, pushed her against a wall and began forcibly kissing her, telling her he's had a crush on her for some time, the report said.
Jenkins then exposed himself and pushed her onto a bed before he sexually battered her, the report said.
The woman said she repeatedly asked Jenkins to stop, and at one point told him, "You're married, your wife and kids are in the hotel," the report said.
During the encounter, the woman was able to take out her phone and send text messages to her boss asking for help, and the boss called her back and she was able to keep the line open, the report said.
Her boss heard her say "don't do this, you're married" and could sense something was wrong, so he went to her room, the report said.
When her boss began knocking on the door, the woman was able to run to the door and get out of the room, the report said.
The report said investigators reviewed surveillnace footage which showed Jenkins stading near the door to the room.
"Jenkins seemed to push his way into the room out of camera view," the report said.
The report said DNA tests from Jenkins and the woman linked him to the incident.
Jenkins, who has been with the Miami-Dade Police Department since 1996, has been relieved of duty with pay.
"As law enforcement officers we are held to a higher standard in society, on and off duty," Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez said in a statement. "Immediately after being notified of an incident that occurred off duty on April 25, 2021, in the City of Palm Beach Gardens, I ordered for John Jenkins Jr. to be relieved of his official duties as a Miami-Dade Police Department lieutenant. Now learning of his arrest, it has brought a sense of disappointment that is immeasurable. This is a serious matter and I am confident that the City of Palm Beach Gardens Police Department will continue to carry out a thorough investigation."
"The South Florida PBA is appalled and deeply saddened by the charges against Lt. Jenkins, who had previously resigned from his position with the PBA," South Florida PBA President Steadman Stahl said in a statement. "We take these charges very seriously and are cooperating with this investigation fully."
