SANFORD, Fla. — Police said a man was arrested in Sanford on charges of impersonating a police officer near an elementary school.
A witness at the school said they saw Roberto Acevedo walking past the playground, staring at girls on the swings. The witness said when she told him to leave, he pulled out a badge.
Authorities said Acevedo has been arrested three times for the same crime.
According to a Sanford police report, Acevedo was seen staring at children outside of Pine Crest Elementary School.
Police tracked him down and said he admitted to using the badge at the school.
Neighbors said they were not surprised.
"Sometimes he goes bike riding. He says he's a police man, his sister says he passed a test and he says he's a cop. He's got a badge and a walkie talkie," said neighbor Ernesto Bugos.
In 2011, Channel 9 reported on his arrest that involved two teens in Sanford. Authorities said Acevedo convinced a boyfriend and girlfriend he was an officer and then separated the two before forcing the girl to lift her shirt as he molested her.
Acevedo is in the Seminole County Jail.
WFTV
