CLERMONT, Florida—A 74-year-old registered sex offender was nabbed at Clermont’s Waterfront Park Saturday after being accused of exposing himself to two teenagers, according to an arrest affidavit.
Clermont Police responded to the park around 5 p.m. Saturday and the two victims, approximately 13 years old, said a man, later identified at Victor Manuel Nieves-Mendez, watched them from across the park and then unzipped his pants and exposed himself, according to the affidavit.
The victims’ guardian yelled at Nieves-Mendez and said she was going to call law enforcement. Nieves-Mendez fled and ran into Lake Minneola and hid under a boat dock, where officers caught him. He told CPD he was stretching at the park and when the victims’ guardian accused him, he ran off due to his prior convictions for sexual offenses. According to his Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sexual Offender Flyer, he was convicted of forcible touching in Ockland, New York in 2009.
Nieves-Mendez, of Clermont, told police he was not sure if exposing himself was intentional or not, the affidavit states. Due to Nieves-Mendez age and medical history, Lake EMS responded to the scene, and he refused to be transported. Nieves-Mendez was arrested for two counts of exposure of sexual organs and CPD took him to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares for medical clearance. After he was cleared, he was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was released on $10,000 bond.
