JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man on the city's Westside told a boy, "I'm a child molester," and then grabbed the child, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report.
Kenneth Reed Jr., 32, was arrested last week on a third-degree felony charge of child abuse.
According to the arrest report obtained by News4Jax on Monday, a boy and girl were walking home from the Shell gas station on Ramona Boulevard at Lane Avenue on Nov. 6 when the boy said Reed told him, "I'm a child molester," and then grabbed his arm and tried to pull him.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said it's unusual that a suspect would tell a potential victim something like that.
"I don't think I've ever heard that -- someone coming out and admitting what they are and what they're about to do," Smith said. "Usually, a child molester would try to befriend the child, try to be very friendly and, kind of, lure them into some kind of sexual activity without them being aware of what's going on. To come out and announce that is very unusual."
The boy told police he punched his attacker and got away.
The Sheriff's Office said the boy later identified Reed through a photo lineup.
Reed denied touching the child, and said the story being told is a conspiracy against him, according to the arrest report.
Smith noted another interesting part of the police report, saying it's very unusual for a child molestation suspect to attack or assault a youngster while there are other children around.
"This person attempted this with another victim, the victim having a friend there," Smith said. "Usually child molesters, and most people committing crimes, they have less resistance and fewer people to fight them. So these two things really make it very unusual in this case."
Both the victim and the other child, who witnessed what happened, had very similar descriptions, although not exactly alike.
Smith, who spent 26 years as a Jacksonville police officer, said the slight inconsistencies make the reports more credible to investigators. He said if two minors had exactly the same story, he would suspect they got together to fabricate the story.
Reed was booked into the Duval County jail on Nov. 13 and ordered held on $10,000 bond.