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Sex offender charged with spying on teens in The Villages

THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Deputies said they caught a convicted sex offender spying on teens from the bushes near The Villages' Square.
 
But it's what he's accused of doing to gain the community's trust that could tie him to even more lewd behavior.
 
Authorities say they caught Jamie Greenberg spying on children near the square and that he also posed as a security guard with The Villages watch.
 
Deputies believe Greenberg liked to hang out at the square because of all the children who visit there every day.
 
After the crime allegedly took place, deputies said they spotted him days later back out here hanging out. 
 
"Definitely there's no good intentions in what he's doing," said Lt. Bobby Caruthers with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
 
Greenberg is facing charges for loitering and prowling after investigators say he was hiding in the bushes at the Lake Sumter Landing, while watching some teens who were hanging out on the bridge.
 
"He's your classic peeping Tom," Caruthers said.
 
Deputies say when the teens spotted him, he took off.
 
Greenberg's picture is on the wall of sex offenders at the Sheriff's Office and deputies said they have gotten numerous complaints about him watching kids in the same area.
 
Deputies say they also caught him impersonating a Villages watch officer.
 
Greenberg was watching two teens make out and when they noticed him, he told them he was with the Village watch and they could keep kissing, authorities said.
 
Once word spread about Greenberg's arrest, people were horrified.
 
"If he was in the bushes, he had very bad intentions," said resident Julia Morabito. "It's inexcusable, it's terrible."
 
Investigators said he has a history of impersonating authority figures. In New York, they said he was busted for impersonating a cop and on multiple occasions spying on and groping teens.