POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A 57-year-old man is behind bars after deputies said he intentionally and repeatedly touched a 16-year-old girl’s buttocks at a Chick-fil-A.
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According to Polk County, Fla. deputies, the incident occurred at the Chick-fil-A restaurant on South Floride Avenue in Lakeland, Fla.
When deputies arrived at the restaurant, just before 3 p.m., the suspect, Awny Abdel Malek Basta, 57, of Lakeland, had run to a nearby hotel.
The victim told deputies, she was sitting at a table doing schoolwork when Basta sat down directly behind her. She told detectives that she felt something touch the upper part of her buttocks several times. When she turned around to see what was touching her, she saw that it was Basta’s hand, officials said.
Deputies said when the victim confronted Basta, he ran away.
Basta got on a city bus and it drove north on S. Florida Avenue. Restaurant employees flagged down the bus at which time it stopped, and Basta was asked to leave the bus.
Deputies found the 57-year-old in a nearby parking lot and arrested him.
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Detectives obtained security video from the restaurant which confirmed the victim’s statements. Basta refused to speak with investigators.
Basta was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with lewd and lascivious touch.
“Awny Basta is a pervert, and a sex offender with an extensive criminal history. Because of his history, our detectives believe it’s possible that there are additional victims out there. If anyone thinks they may have been a victim of this man, please contact the Special Victims Unit of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200. We want to make sure he’s held accountable for everything he has done,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
According to the sheriff’s office, Basta was incarcerated three times between 2006 and 2011 in Tennessee for sexual battery charges.
In 2015, Basta was arrested after he groped a woman at a Lakeland Panera restaurant, and subsequently served 180 days in jail for battery. In 2023, Basta was arrested for groping a woman at Starbucks in Lakeland and charged with violation of probation and felony battery. He was released from prison on October 18, 2024, officials said.
The investigation is ongoing.
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