A man who worked as a driver for a Miami church has been arrested for sexting a 13-year-old girl he met while transporting her to activities, the City of Miami Police Department said.
Elvin Daniel Ortiz-Cruz, 23, is facing multiple charges, including promoting sexual performance by a child, police said.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Victim’s mother finds explicit WhatsApp messages
On Nov. 3, the victim’s mother found inappropriate and sexually explicit text messages between Ortiz-Cruz and her daughter on WhatsApp, a messaging and video calling app, and immediately reported it to police, officials said.
The mom told police that in 2024, her daughter started attending an evening class at Ministerio Internacional Jesus El Salvador Church, located at 2300 NW 23rd Street – a class only for children. She said that the driver, Ortiz-Cruz, would pick up her child at their home and drop her off after the class ended every week.
Interview with Miami police reveals year-long communication with suspect
The victim told police that Ortiz-Cruz began to send her messages last year, but the frequency increased in 2025. She said that Ortiz-Cruz would ask her inappropriate questions, expose himself, and ask her to do the same.
The Miami Police Special Victims Unit launched an investigation into Ortiz-Cruz and gathered additional evidence in the case, including several inappropriate messages and pictures between the victim and the suspect.
Police said an undercover operation led to Ortiz-Cruz’s arrest. On Nov. 23, he was located outside of the church and taken into custody on one count of sexual performance by a child, three counts of electronic transmission harmful to a minor and four counts of seduce/solicit/lure/child/engage/sex.
Miami police believe there are more victims
When Ortiz-Cruz was arrested, he admitted to police that “he would meet most people that he would transport to the church as he would preach out on the street,” according to the report.
Due to his regular access to children, detectives said there may be additional victims and are encouraging them to come forward.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-4877 (TIPS) or visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select “Give a Tip” or send a message to 274637.
