A disturbing incident in Palm Beach County has led to the arrest of a 60-year-old homeless man after a 15-year-old girl reported being inappropriately touched while walking to school. James Whidby, who has a history of encounters with the law, now faces charges stemming from the unsettling event. According to CBS12, Whidby made his initial approach towards the teen at a bus stop next to Walmart on South Military Trail in Lake Worth earlier this month, and later engaged in more direct and troubling contact.
In an affidavit sourced by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, details emerged of an initial interaction which included Whidby allegedly touching himself after commenting on the girl's appearance. The situation escalated three days later when the suspect approached the teen again, this time poking her backside with his finger. His alarming behavior was met with the teen's protest, to which Whidby responded, "Why can't I touch you, there is no one here?" before hastily departing the scene. "I'm 15 myself and the thought of that is so...like skin, eww," Jazlyn Kalfin, a local student, told CBS12.
Whidby's arrest followed after the teen bravely recorded videos of him riding his bike along Military Trail, which aided in his swift identification and apprehension. He was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation, as reported by WPBF. This isn’t first run in with the law for Whidby; past offenses include a guilty plea for stalking in 2019 and a jail sentence for stealing nearly 50 boxes of cigarettes from a Walmart in 2023.
As a result of the incident, Jessyka Hernandez, also a mother of a student at Santaluces Community High School, has opted to pick her daughter up rather than letting her walk or take the bus. She told CBS12, "We pick them up as parents because this is the scary stuff that happens to our kids and we don't know." Meanwhile, the girl has since altered her route to school as investigations into the case continue.
