Local

Child predator only given warning after GPS tracked him at Sanford park

SANFORD, Fla. — A sexual predator was given several warnings before he was arrested on charges he violated the conditions of his probation.

Nijhir Lomax, 20, was arrested because his court-ordered GPS monitor tracked him to Sanford’s Fort Mellon Park, from which he is banned.

Lomax told his probation officer he was at the park to play basketball, but his monitor also tracked him to the children’s splash pad on the other side of the park.

“He should have been arrested right away,” said Sanford resident Chineta Knight.

Last year, Lomax was convicted of sexually battering a child younger than 12 while he was babysitting.

“You need not to give them a second chance. You need to file a violation of probation and let a judge decide whether to restore him to probation or put him in the state penitentiary,” said WFTV’s legal analyst Bill Sheaffer. “It’s not a classification to be taken lightly.”