The man is arrested after authorities say he fondled the girl as they left the Weeki Wachee Springs attraction.
By Times Staff Writer
Published October 15, 2004
BROOKSVILLE - A 40-year-old Lecanto man was arrested Thursday after he was accused of fondling a 12-year-old girl leaving Weeki Wachee Springs last month, authorities said.
James Wooten of 5425 S Frost Point was taken into custody at the Sheriff's Office.
The girl's sister told an investigator she had caught Wooten staring at her sister's buttocks and looking down her shirt when the girl bent over, an arrest report stated.
As they left the park on Sept. 18, she said, Wooten grabbed the girl's breast, and as she stepped into a van, he grabbed her buttocks. According to the report, Wooten admitted to touching the girl's buttocks and breast over her clothing, and was charged with lewd or lascivious molestation.
The second-degree felony carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison.
Wooten was taken to the Hernando County Jail, where he was being held Thursday in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Authorities are withholding the identity of the girl because of the nature of the allegations.
