COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. -- A Collier County tennis instructor is behind bars, accused of sex crimes on a minor.
49-year-old Christopher Pearson was arrested Wednesday and charged with lewd/lascivious offenses committed upon or in presence of persons under age 16.
The Michigan Department of Children's Protective Services notified Marco Island Police in December that two young girls claimed Pearson touched them inappropriately while they were visiting at a relative's condo on Royal Marco Way in the Hideaway Beach Community. At the time, Pearson was a tennis coach at the Marco Island YMCA.
"You would hope the club...would really check these people out," said Thomas Groenings, a parent in Naples. "But nothing's fail-safe."
One victim told investigators that Pearson would sleep naked in bed with her at the condo. He's also accused of showering with, and inappropriately touching, a young girl on multiple occasions.
Pearson was arrested by Marco Island Police on the grounds of the Glen Eagle Country Club Wednesday in Naples, where he is listed as a self-employed tennis instructor.
Pearson is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, and one count of sexual battery on a child under 12.
Pearson is currently in custody in the Collier County jail on $1 million bond.
