Who is John Anthony Jenkins? Florida cop allegedly raped police union member at hotel where family was staying
Things allegedly took a harrowing turn at a Florida Police Benevolent Association gala in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, last week, as a 46-year-old employee of the union has since claimed a Miami-Dade Police Department lieutenant raped her. The unnamed woman has alleged that John Anthony Jenkins followed her to her hotel room and forced himself upon her while his wife and kids were in the same hotel.
The accused was arrested on Friday, and booked on one count of sexual battery and one count of attempted sexual battery. His lawyer has since denied the allegations, and after being released on bail, Jenkins continues to remain on police payroll.
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Who is John Anthony Jenkins?
Jenkins, 50, has resigned as the executive vice president of Miami-Dade’s Police Benevolent Association after his arrest. Jenkins began his career with the police department in 1996; worked in the public information office before becoming a union leader, reports the Miami Herald.
The complaint affidavit against him claims that Jenkins walked the woman up to her room - something he had done on previous nights at the venue. Surveillance footage cited by the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department shows Jenkins taking the elevator to the third floor along with the alleged victim. When the woman, who was staying on the same floor, opened the door to her room, Jenkins can be seen pushing himself into the room, claims the affidavit.
The unnamed union member told Palm Beach Gardens Police that Jenkins had admitted he had always had a crush on her. According to her, once inside her hotel room, Jenkins pushed her against a wall and began kissing her. She said he then proceeded to unzip his pants and attempted to force her head towards his penis. When the woman resisted, Jenkins allegedly pushed her down on the bed, laid on top of her and pulled her underwear off from under the dress.
The woman repeatedly kept telling him “no, don’t do that” and “please stop," but Jenkins said he wanted to "taste" her, with the affidavit stating he asserted that the women, who's White, had “never had a Black man before.”
'You’re married'
The affidavit states when Jenkins wouldn't stop, the alleged victim repeatedly tried reminding him he was married. "You're married, your wife and kids are in the hotel,” she recalled saying. Jenkins continued to perform oral sex on her while holding her down, she claims in the affidavit. At that point, the woman managed to text her friend and boss Matthew Puckett, who is the executive director of the Florida PBA. "Help me right noe (sic)” read the message, followed by “please," which was corroborated by the Palm Beach Gardens Police.
The woman allegedly told Jenkins she needed to use the bathroom and took her phone with her. She then texted Puckett again for help and when he called her, the woman kept him on call as Jenkins entered the bathroom and asked her what she was doing. Soon Puckett began knocking on the door, when Jenkins allegedly frantically said, "Matt Puckett is at the door.” He asked her to lie and say she was at the bar, the woman alleges, adding that once Jenkins was on the other side of the room, she took her chance to run outside.
During a police interview, Puckett told cops he was asleep when the messages from the alleged victim came through. He thought the woman, whom he'd had last seen at the bar around midnight, might still be there. When he went to check, the woman wasn't there, so he called on her cellphone and heard her saying "don't do this you're married", adding that she also said the name "John." When Puckett got to the room, he thought he heard Jenkins's voice, having known him for over 18 years. When the door opened, Puckett grabbed the woman and pulled her out from the room, he told police. Puckett told police the woman had an "oh, f**k" look on her face and later told him Jenkins had raped her.
Everything was 'consensual'
Jenkins was booked into jail in Palm Beach County on Friday last week after a DNA match. He was released on bail by 2 pm the next day. Jenkins's attorney Heidi Perlet told the Miami Herald in a statement that the incident involved “two consenting adults who have known each other for many years. Anything that may have occurred was consensual.”
Perlet told the paper "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."
Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III released a statement on Sunday after Jenkins’ arrest, stating that law enforcement officers are “held to a higher standard in society, on and off duty.” After learning of the charges against him, Ramirez ordered Jenkins to be relieved of duties as a lieutenant. He said Jenkins’ arrest “brought a sense of disappointment that is immeasurable.” A spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department however told The Daily Beast on Monday that Jenkins has been transferred to the property and evidence section and was put on leave with pay