WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — A man accused of exposing himself to a young girl at a Winter Springs park Monday appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.
Evan Maness, 33, is being charged with lewd and lascivious behavior for allegedly exposing himself to an underage girl at Trotwood Park, according to Winter Springs police.
Maness was ordered by the judge Tuesday to “no(t) return to any public parks or any parks where children frequent.”
The victim also told police that it appeared Maness was trying to pursue a younger girl who appeared to be 12 before her, but was unable to contact to her.
The victim is believed to be between 12 and 16 years old. She told police Maness allegedly asked the girl for directions and when she got close to his truck, he exposed himself. She called police and Maness was arrested not far from there.
Parents at Trotwood Park Tuesday shared their frustration over the incident with Channel 9.
“It makes me uncomfortable -- you want your kids to be able to go out and have fun and play ... and be in the area without concern that someone might come up and approach your child, or show them something they shouldn’t be seeing,” said Tasha Meyer, a mother.
This isn’t the first time Maness exposed himself to a child, either.
In 2015, he was arrested in Osceola County after a 16-year-old girl reported that Maness was inappropriately touching himself in his car outside a Subway restaurant. Maness was charged with exposure of sexual organs, a misdemeanor, and sentenced to a year of probation.
“I think there needs to be something heavier, make them think twice before they do it again,” Meyer said.
Read: Can you ID this man? Deputies say he exposed himself to children near an Orange County school
New legislation could make lewd acts against children a felony
Sen. Linda Stewart plans to introduce two bills to make lewd acts against children a felony.
One of the bills, if passed, would make committing lewd and lascivious behavior a third-degree felony, with penalties of up to five years in prison and thousands of dollars in fined.
The other bill would close a loophole regarding lewd and lascivious behavior that 9 Investigates first brought to Stewart’s attention last year.
“It’s a no-brainer, the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office and the city officers all are in favor of that because we are very limited to what we can and cannot do with this behavior," Stewart said.
She said “The problem that we have with the offenders is that they are going to offend again.
“We already know they need medical help. They need mental help and they are not going to get it if it’s a revolving door,” she said.