Police arrest man who followed teenage girl home, tried kissing her

A man accused of following a 13-year-old girl and walking inside her home before attempting to kiss her has been arrested.

Lee County deputies said the girl was waiting at her bus stop Thursday morning around Murcott Drive East. The girl told deputies she felt uncomfortable and went home, but the man followed her inside.

When WINK News spoke to the mother on Tuesday evening, she said she’s thankful for the surveillance cameras inside her home that helped catch and arrest the suspect.

Merely three days after Lee County deputies say Edinson Salgado Arteaga, 33, followed a girl home and into her house, he is behind bars and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior.

WINK News spoke to the victim’s mother, who didn’t want to be identified, but said she’s glad deputies worked hard and arrested the man quickly.

“My daughter was reluctant to tell me what happened, but I told her you can tell me anything. Little by little, she disclosed what this man did,” the mother said.

The victim told the Lee County Sheriff’s Office that Arteaga asked her questions that made her feel uneasy, and in an attempt to get away from Arteaga, she walked home. But he followed her and tried kissing her but fled on foot when he saw surveillance cameras inside the young teenager’s home.

Across the street, Julio Hernandez, who has a Ring Camera outside his home, also provided surveillance video. While it was not the best quality, LCSO is thankful the suspect is behind bars.

“This is very concerning because this is a very nice neighborhood. That’s never happened around here before, and there are kids here. They need to be protected,” Hernandez said.

As for the victim’s mother, she’s still on edge.

“I’m worried because I’m a single mom with her kids. Not knowing what kind of people are roaming around this are makes me scared for myself and my family,” the mother said.

Tuesday night, WINK News knocked on several neighbors’ doors to ask them how they felt about the incident, but Hernandez was the only one willing to go on camera.