Homeless man accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old on her way to school

Police say Micheal Canady sexually assaulted girl at knifepoint

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A homeless man was arrested Friday after Miami-Dade County police said he raped a 16-year-old girl who was walking to school, authorities said.

Micheal Canady, 32, faces charges of kidnapping and armed sexual battery.

According to the arrest report, the girl was waiting for a school bus around 7 a.m. in the area of Southwest 142nd Avenue and 267th Street when Canady approached and put a knife to her back. Canady then forced her to go with him to a construction site just outside a residential complex near Naranja Park, the report said.

At the construction site, Canady molested the girl and forced her to perform oral sex, the report said. 

"I mean, it's traumatizing because they're kids and they want to go to school. That's the aim," said Shanique Drayton, who lives in the area. 

Crime scene detectives searched the construction site and recovered what appears to be a school backpack. Evidence markers were scattered on the dirt. 

Police said the victim got on her school bus after the attack and called one of her parents, who alerted police. 

Micheal Canady, 32, was arrested on Friday.

Officers questioned the victim when she got off the bus. 

Meanwhile, some parents in the area said they will not be dropping their children off at their respective bus stops.

"I wouldn't drop him off," Drayton said. "I would have to stay there until the bus comes because that's just me, and this world is not getting any better. It's just getting worse."

Canady is currently being held without bond at Miami-Dade County's Turner Guildford Knight Correctional Center.


About the Authors:

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.