CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A 27-year-old man is facing multiple charges after Cape Coral Police say the man groped a teenage girl and later attempted to enter a vehicle with minors inside.
Cape Coral Police arrested Nelson Antonio Prado after two separate incidents that occurred hours apart along Pine Island Road.
According to police, officers responded to a report of inappropriate touching at a store on NE Pine Island Road around 1 p.m. Sunday. A 17-year-old girl reported that an unknown man had groped her from behind while she was shopping in the electronics section.
The victim told officers the man had been "creeping" around her and her sibling before the incident occurred. After initially walking away when confronted by a family member, the man returned and inappropriately touched the teen.
Surveillance video from the store confirmed the incident, showing the suspect grabbing the minor's buttocks.
Just three hours later, at approximately 4 p.m., officers responded to another location on NE Pine Island Road for a reported burglary attempt.
A woman reported that a man matching Prado's description had attempted to enter her vehicle while her two minor daughters were inside. The girls told police they had noticed the man "smiling creepily" at them inside a store before he tried opening the locked doors of their vehicle.
"They began screaming, and the man turned and walked away," police said.
Officers located and detained Prado nearby. During a search, police say they discovered a screwdriver and a bottle of silicon-based lubricant in his possession.
The victim from the earlier inappropriate touching incident was brought to the scene and identified Prado as the man who had groped her, police say.
Prado was transported to the Cape Coral Police Department for questioning before being charged with lewd and lascivious touching of a minor and burglary.
While at the Lee County Jail, officers reported that Prado continued to exhibit inappropriate behavior toward a female officer despite multiple warnings.
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