A Florida sex offender has been arrested for allegedly exposing himself to women and children, Fox 13 reports.
Robert Miranda, 42, is accused of approaching unsuspecting people in public, displaying his genitals and then gratifying himself.
“They saw more than they wanted,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said of the victims.
On February 16, Miranda is accused of accosting a 30-year-old woman and her 60-year-old mother.
“They are literally standing and admiring Winter Haven, when this guy pulls up in a gray Mitsubishi Outlander and masturbates in their presence,” Judd said.
The following week, Miranda allegedly stopped his vehicle where a 9-year-old girl was located, and asked about a dog. Miranda allegedly said he had a puppy in his vehicle and he invited the girl to look at the dog, but the girl ran away and police were notified.
Minutes later, Miranda allegedly stopped near a 12-year-old and began masturbating in front of the child.
In each of the cases, the assailant wore all black clothes and had on a black mask, according to WFLA-TV.
Police found surveillance camera footage that revealed a vehicle tag number, which led to Miranda’s mother, who told investigators that she had bought the Outlander for her son and that he was a registered sex offender.
Officers searched Miranda’s home and the vehicle and located black masks.
Miranda’s family owns a used auto auction, which may have given him access to other vehicles. He worked for the family business driving around the state looking for vehicles to buy.
Judd said he suspects Miranda may have other victims and urged anyone who may have experienced similar encounters to contact police.
“This is not his first rodeo,” Judd said, according to WFTV.
Records show that Miranda has been on the state’s sex offender registry since 2000. He was 17 years old at the time and was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery against a victim aged 12 to 15 years old. He also has been convicted of drug offenses.
Miranda was booked into the Polk County Jail on March 6, his birthday, according to the sheriff’s office. He faces three counts of failing to register as a sex offender, one count of attempted kidnapping, one count of indecent exposure and one count of lewd and lascivious exhibition by a person over the age of 18.
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[Feature Photo: Robert Miranda/Polk County SO]
