A Deltona man has been arrested, accused of hugging a 10-year-old girl and squeezing her butt as she walked to Friendship Elementary School last Thursday.
32-year-old Adam Sturgeon has been charged with lewd and lascivious molestation and is being held at the Volusia County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
Volusia County deputies said, the girl was walking to school with a younger brother and cousin when they encountered Sturgeon on Barbarsossa Avenue, who asked the 10-year-old for a hug. Although the girl declined, she told deputies, Sturgeon grabbed her by the waist and gave her a hug anyway and also squeezed her buttocks.
The girl’s mother had told investigators Sturgeon had commented in the past about how beautiful and sexy her daughter was.
Several parents in the neighborhood told deputies that they’ve been concerned for some time about Sturgeon’s odd and creepy behaviour. Some said he often hangs around and plays with children in the neighborhood and recently had been trying to lure them to his house with promises of presents.
Last Thursday, deputies also received three calls about Sturgeon, including from a Lake Helen-Osteen Road resident who reported he had shown up looking for a place to hide from deputies.
Sturgeon was found shortly after in the woman’s backyard and taken into custody.
Investigators said, during interviews, Sturgeon gave inconsistent and rambling responses, claiming everyone in the neighborhood was jealous of him and conspiring against him. At times he denied hugging the girl and other times he admitted it.
Sturgeon is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $50,000 bond.
Anyone with information about him is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office’s Sex Crimes Unit at (386) 254-1537.
