ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday afternoon for a violation of probation.
John Wesley Thompson, 30, is accused of contacting two young girls who were operating a lemonade stand to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Recommended Videos
According to police, Thompson allegedly saw their photographs in the Sunday edition of the St. Augustine Record and spoke to one of the girls, ages 7 and 8, on the telephone. Police said Thompson then made some inappropriate remarks to the girl, who put her father on the phone before the caller hung up.
"These are these horror stories that you hear about and, fortunately, the ending of this -- the outcome -- was not that bad," St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said. "It was just a phone call."
Police used phone records to trace the number to Thompson's cell phone. He was brought in for questioning Wednesday morning. Police said Thompson admitted to violating his probation.
A search of his residence revealed possession of a firearm and pornography, which is also a violation of his probation.
"This case highlights a few things," Shoar said. "One is how vulnerable people -- young children -- can be (and) how ingenious offenders and predators can be in trying to reach out and touch these children."
Thompson was sentenced to two years in prison in July 2004 for pleading guilty to child molestation and promoting sexual performance by a child on two separate occasions in 2003. He was released in May for time already served and is on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's sex offender registry through 2009.
"Our message today to parents is even though the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office and, indeed, law enforcement throughout the country have ramped up their response to sexual offenders and sexual predators, the fact is they're still out there," Shoar said. "Law enforcement can't cover them all and a certain percentage of these guys are going to continue to try to victimize, so we've got to be vigilant."
Thompson is currently being held without bond in the St. Johns County jail and will make his first appearance before a judge Thursday morning.