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Man charged with exposing himself to children on Collier County beach

Posted at 6:22 PM, Apr 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-11 07:05:25-04

A man was arrested Sunday at Clam Pass Beach, after Collier County deputies responded to complaints that he was exposing his private parts on the busy beach.

33-year-old Gabriel Vergara-Gonzalez faces charges of lewd and lascivious behavior.

"He was sitting on the beach taking pictures of his anatomy," said witness Lisa Clark. "He was in his underwear. Over a hundred people walking past him, seeing this."

Clark said this went on for about an hour, with Vergara-Gonzalez exposing his genitals to take pictures of them with his cell phone. Deputies eventually showed up and arrested him. 

"I feel bad for the little girl that had to point it out to her mom," Clark said. "The little girl was saying, 'hey mom, what's going on with that guy? That doesn't look right.'"

"It's very surprising because that doesn't usually happen," said Alayla Torres, who frequents the beach at Clam Pass. "Especially at this beach, since it's so family-friendly."

Vergara-Gonzalez's cell phone was taken into evidence. It contained inappropriate photos, according to a report from the Collier County Sheriff's Office.