TARPON SPRINGS - Police on Thursday charged a Palm Harbor man with molesting a mentally disabled man he had befriended at a bus stop.
Francis V. Galvan, 60, of 301 Somerset Lane, met the 43-year-old victim near a bus stop at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and U.S. 19, according to police. The two would talk each Tuesday and Thursday while waiting for the bus. A few times, Galvan asked the victim if he wanted to look at adult videos or magazines with him, police said. The man did not express any interest and usually walked away.
On Nov. 4, however, the man accompanied Galvan to a spot behind a tree south of MLK at Walton Avenue. There, Galvan showed the victim a magazine and tried to fondle him, prompting the man to pull away and leave, police said. At first, police had nothing more than a description to work with, but officers and detectives monitored the bus stop. On Thursday, Officer Susan Gorman and Detective Steve Van Schaick spotted Galvan in front of a Walgreen's on Alt. U.S. 19. The victim identified him, and Galvan admitted to the incident after being advised of his rights, police said.
Galvan was charged with committing a lewd and lascivious act on a disabled person, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday night in lieu of $10,000 bail.
