A Miami karate instructor who had been accused of molesting a 9-year-old student in 2023 walked out of jail Monday after prosecutors abruptly closed the case just as his trial was about to start. Darwin DeJesus Rojas‑Frias, 60, had been locked up since Oct. 10, 2023, and is now out of custody. Court filings over the trial schedule and the availability of witnesses played a central role in the decision to dismiss the charge, according to court records.
Prosecutors had asked for a delay, telling the court that the alleged victim and her family had moved to Venezuela and that extra time was needed to bring them back to testify, according to NBC6 South Florida. Defense attorneys pushed back in their own filings, arguing the girl and her mother did not have legal status in the United States, that their return was unlikely, and that any further delay would violate Rojas‑Frias’s right to a speedy and fair trial. Judge Richard Hersch denied the prosecution’s request for a continuance, after which the case was closed and the defendant released, according to court records.
What Police Say Happened
The allegation stems from Sept. 29, 2023, during what was supposed to be a one-on-one lesson at Showakai Karate‑Do USA in The Hammocks. According to Local 10, the child told her mother that Rojas‑Frias took her into a small closet out of sight and that inappropriate contact occurred. The arrest report states that Rojas‑Frias admitted leading the girl into the closet but denied any molestation.
Defense Arguments And Trial Posture
Rojas‑Frias’s attorney has consistently maintained that his client is innocent and pushed to re-question the child, telling CBS Miami that cases built on testimony need especially careful scrutiny. In court papers opposing the state’s motion for a continuance, the defense argued that keeping a defendant jailed for months while extending the case even further would be prejudicial. Prosecutors countered that they needed more time to secure the alleged victim as a witness. Those dueling filings, followed by the judge’s refusal to delay the proceedings, came just before the charge was dropped and the case closed, according to court records reported by NBC6 South Florida.
