JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother claims in a lawsuit against multiple parties that background check failures led to her 12-year-old daughter being groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by a landscaping employee at the apartment complex where they lived.
The lawsuit, which was filed late last year, is now public and shows that the girl’s mother, on behalf of her daughter, is suing 59-year-old Randy Maurice Foster, Kernan Owner LLC, Bryten Real Estate Partners, Asset Living, and D.M. Koehn Landscaping.
The lawsuit claims Foster, who is a registered sex offender with an extensive violent criminal history, was employed by a landscaping company that worked for the complex, and that the defendants failed to conduct adequate background checks on him, placing him in a position to have access to her young daughter.
“My daughter is now a victim of abuse because basic safeguards were not put in place,” the child’s mother said. “We cannot undo what has been done to my family, but we can decide what happens next.”
Court records show Foster is currently facing 11 counts of possessing child sexual abuse images in connection with the case. He has pleaded not guilty and is expected in court for a pretrial hearing on March 5.
“Justice, in this case, is holding the individuals who are a part of this accountable both in the criminal justice system and in the civil courtroom,” said Belkis Plata, an attorney for the victim.
The victim’s mother is seeking justice for her child and accountability from all those she says were involved in what happened to her daughter while they were living at the Mirage on Kernan apartment complex.
“We represent an incredibly hard-working family who trusted these companies to provide a reasonably safe community for them to live in, for their daughter to live in. And those companies betrayed them,” said attorney Adam Finkel, who is representing the girl and her mother. “A monster like that did exactly what everybody would expect. He preyed upon a child. He groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl, a child, our client.”
The victim’s mother, who asked not to be identified, shared that even driving past the property now is a painful reminder of what happened.
“No other family should have to learn that their child’s safety was compromised because someone failed to do what was required,” she said. “No child should lose their sense of safety because shortcuts were taken.”
Before a news conference announcing the lawsuit, News4JAX called the apartment complex, but we were hung up on before we could get further information.
A property manager, who declined to go on camera, said the property management company currently managing the property took over more than a year ago and is not one of the companies named in the lawsuit.
The landscaping company involved is permanently closed, and calls to its listed phone number went unanswered.
Messages seeking comment were sent to Bryten Real Estate, the company linked to Kernan Owner LLC, and Foster’s attorney. No responses have been received.
Attorneys for the victim say the property management companies have been non-responsive.
“I will continue to speak out until meaningful action is taken,” the victim’s mother said. “Silence allowed this to happen again, and that is something I refuse to accept.”