LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Lee County deputies are searching for a sex offender who's accused of inappropriately touching himself in front of three girls on three separate occasions.
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers says Christian Chinchilla did this three times in a little more than a month. The first incident was reported off of Terry Avenue N and 67 Street W in Lehigh Acres on November 17 at a bus stop. The second happened at a CVS on Lee Boulevard. The most recent happened on December 12 on Orange River Boulevard and Palm Lane, also at a bus stop.
"We all need to make sure we’re looking out for our kids," said Trish Routte with Southwest Florida Crimestoppers. "He’s pulling up to young girls and committing lewd acts in front of them."
In the first case, she says Chinchilla pulled up to a middle school student waiting for the bus in the morning. He allegedly rolled down his windows and touched himself inappropriately.
At the CVS, Routte says he did the same thing. In this case, the mother of the high school student walked out of the store and saw what happened before Chinchilla took off.
During the last incident, Routte says it was just like the first, also at a bus stop and it was a middle school student.
The description of Chinchilla and his car lead detectives to the sex offender database, where they identified Chinchilla. Routte says the girls also identified him, too.
Chinchilla has been convicted of 13 charges of lewd and lascivious acts in Miami.
"Fortunately in these three instances, the victims all did the right thing and told a trusted adult about what happened," Routte said.
These types of cases have also recently occurred in other parts of our area, too.
In April, there were similar cases in Golden Gate. The Collier County Sheriff's Office says two different suspects in two of the cases did the same thing, they say.
Over in San Carlos Park, also in April, a man is accused of approaching a young girl at a bus stop. Police documents say she walked home right behind the bus stop. That's when documents say he followed her inside and asked her if she had a boyfriend, to kiss him and turn off the cameras they had inside the house.
The suspect left the home after the girl said she would not turn off the cameras and her grandmother was home. Days later, the police report says the suspect turned himself in with an attorney, though he wouldn't talk to police. He was charged with burglary and lewd and lascivious acts.
With what seems to be so many cases in recent months, Routte says it could have to do with more people moving here, increasing the likelihood of predators, but she says it could be because of our home environment, in a good way.
"We as adults are doing a better job talking to our young daughters about strangers," Routte explained. "If you’ve seen him kind of scouting around your area, you need to have this conversation, especially with your young daughters."
Meaning more kids could be reporting these incidents, causing more cases to come to light, like Chinchilla's.
Chinchilla is still on the run, and Routte believes he's still in the area.
"I think anytime that you have an adult male that is preying on young female girls in a lewd way like this, we all need to be on alert," Routte said.
Again, Chinchilla is already a sex offender with a GPS device investigators believe he cut off after they started searching for him.
If you know anything about these cases, you're asked to call police.
