JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – A 39-year-old Jacksonville Beach man was arrested last week after police said two teen girls identified him as a man who grabbed them while they were at the beach last month.
Robert Evans is charged with lewd and lascivious molestation, and battery on a juvenile.
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Police said that on Sept. 3, Evans started talking with the girls while they were sunbathing near the Jacksonville Beach pier and later followed them into the water. Police said he convinced them that he was going to teach them how to surf.
Once in the water, he grabbed both of them around their waist and continued to touch them without their consent, police said.
"It started out as just a caressing, and then it was a very quick grab and forceful motion," said Sgt. Thomas Bingham, of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.
The girls told detectives that when Evans grabbed them from behind, they could feel that he was sexually aroused, police said. The two girls left the area and called police, detectives said.
According to a police report, Evans text messaged three pictures of his penis to one of the victims from his cellphone. Police said the girl immediately deleted the photos.
Evans was arrested after a warrant was obtained and is currently being held at the Duval County Jail with bail set at $125,003.
Channel 4 crime analyst Ken Jefferson said the teen girls did the right thing by getting out of the water immediately and calling police, but he warns other minors about spending time with older men.
"You never want to hang out with a grown man. I don't care what it looks like. I don't care what he looks like. You don't want to hang out with a grown man if you're a minor, No. 1," Jefferson said. "No. 2, immediately when you feel uncomfortable or things become inappropriate, you get away."
Detectives said they have obtained information that leads them to believe there could possibly be other victims in separate cases with the same suspect.
Anyone with information to other similar cases should call the Jacksonville Beach Police Department at 904-270-1667.