A 57-year-old Lakeland man, Awny Abdel Malek Basta, faces a charge of lewd and lascivious touch after he was allegedly caught on camera at a Chick-fil-A restaurant inappropriately touching a 16-year-old girl. According to WFLA, the incident took place at the fast-food chain's location on South Florida Avenue. Surveillance footage released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office purportedly shows Basta reaching behind him to touch the teenager who was seated at a table doing her schoolwork.
The victim, who initially felt something touching her buttocks several times, eventually turned to find Basta's hand behind her, as was later confirmed by the video evidence, the young girl confronted Basta who then fled the scene, leading to a brief chase where restaurant staff followed him until he boarded a city bus, and after flagging down the bus Basta was apprehended by deputies near the Imperial Swan Hotel, this sequence of events was detailed by FOX 13 News.
Basta, who has a history of related offences having been imprisoned three times between 2006 and 2011 in Tennessee for sexual battery charges and arrested in 2015 for an incident at a Lakeland Panera Bread restaurant, was taken to the Polk County Jail, in a statement obtained by Tampa Free Press, Sheriff Grady Judd described Basta as "a pervert, and a sex offender with an extensive criminal history."
Further urging potential victims to come forward, Judd stated, "Because of his history, our detectives believe it’s possible that there are additional victims out there," Judd expressed the need for community members who might have been victimized by Basta to contact the Special Victims Unit of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to ensure Basta is "held accountable for everything he has done" these comments underscore the gravity of the situation and highlight a concerted effort by law enforcement to address it. Psychosocial support mechanisms for survivors of such trauma remain a critical aspect of the aftermath as community members and authorities navigate the legal processes involved in such cases, as per WFLA.
