Miami-Dade officer gets 10 years for raping women he was monitoring on house arrest

As a Miami-Dade corrections officer, Yulian Gonzalez’s job was to supervise inmates released as part of the jail system’s house arrest program. But in at least three cases, he raped women he was tasked with supervising, even threatening to send them back to jail if they refused his advances.

For his crimes, Gonzalez will be headed to prison for a decade. He will also receive 10 years of parole and mandatory status as a registered sexual predator upon his release.

Gonzalez, 36, was first arrested and charged with four counts of armed kidnapping and armed sexual battery in September 2019. He then faced additional charges in October 2019 after two more victims came forward about being raped during his parole visits.

Gonzalez pled guilty to charges against all three women.

His lawyer, Judd Aronowitz, said it was in his client’s best interest to take the deal and declined to comment any further.

Gonzalez was an 11-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department where he worked in their “monitored” release program located in Overtown. In August 2019, he was assigned to supervise a 43-year-old woman at home awaiting trial on a criminal charge, according to an arrest warrant.

The woman told police how he began to express romantic interest in her through text messages and forced her to engage in sexual activities during his home visits. He insisted she perform oral sex on him and threatened to send her back to jail if she refused.

He said: “I can make you disappear,” according to the arrest report.

Surveillance footage and GPS systems also showed Gonzalez taking her to North Miami’s Nexx Motel in his department-issued car, police confirmed. This happened on four separate occasions, according to the arrest report.

In October 2019, a 26-year-old woman told law enforcement that Gonzalez was her appointed probation officer when he raped her. She said he would force her to have sex with him during his court-issued mandatory home visits.

She noted the last time he raped her was one week before his initial arrest charges.

A third victim, 32, came forward and pressed charges against the former officer a few weeks later. Gonzalez was also in charge of monitoring her house arrest when he forced her to have sex with him, according to the warrant.

Daniel Junior, director of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, issued a statement: “On behalf of MDCR, I am deeply saddened that the actions of one employee could tarnish the good work of the Monitored Release Bureau and the proud men and women of MDCR who dedicate their lives to ensuring the safety of the public.”

This is not the first time the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department has come under fire for its operations.

Joshua Burgos is accused of murdering two men in 2016 and was meant to be awaiting trial between his home and work office in West Kendall. He was placed on house arrest through the department and given a GPS monitor to track his activity.

However, prosecutors recently viewed his tracking data to find that he traveled everywhere from Kendall to Islamorada in the span of one year.

During his Zoom hearing, Judge Andrea Wolfson scolded the department for allowing hundreds of violations to take place under their watch.

“I find it offensive that an organization would take a court order and absolutely ignore it. And that’s what happened here,” she said.