Grady Judd: 'Evil, nasty, scary, ugly' man sexually touches teen inside Lakeland restaurant

By FOX 13 News Staff
Updated  December 20, 2024 5:06pm EST
FOX 13 News
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Man accused of inappropriately touching teen

Mark Wilson reports

The Brief

    • A 16-year-old girl reported that a man repeatedly touched her on her buttocks at a Chick-fil-A in Lakeland.
    • The suspect is 57-year-old Awny Abdel Malek Basta, of Lakeland.
    • Basta has an extensive criminal history and was released from prison in October 2024.

LAKELAND, Fla. - A convicted sex offender is under arrest, accused of touching the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Lakeland.

Awny Abdel Malek Basta, 57, of Lakeland, is charged with lewd and lascivious touch.

When deputies arrived at the restaurant at 4625 South Florida Avenue around 3 p.m. Thursday, the victim told them she was seated at a table doing schoolwork when Basta sat down behind her. She told detectives she felt something touch the upper part of her buttocks several times. When she turned around to see what was touching her, she saw that it was Basta's hand.

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Video inside Chick-fil-A shows sex offender touching teen

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says a sex offender sexually attacked a teenage girl.

"This is an evil, nasty, scary, ugly man…and he's dangerous," said Sheriff Grady Judd.

Surveillance video inside the store confirmed the victim's claims.

After Basta was confronted by the girl, he took off.

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Restaurant staff followed Basta and gave updates on his location to PCSO dispatchers. Basta boarded a city bus, and it drove north on S. Florida Avenue. Restaurant employees flagged down the bus at which time it stopped and Basta was asked to get off. Deputies found him in a nearby parking lot and detained him.

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Grady Judd: 'Evil, nasty, scary, ugly' man sexually attacks teen inside Lakeland restaurant

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on the arrest of a sex offender in Lakeland.

Detectives say Basta refused to talk with them.

"Awny Basta is a pervert, and a sex offender with an extensive criminal history. Because of his history, our detectives believe it’s possible that there are additional victims out there. If anyone thinks they may have been a victim of this man, please contact the Special Victims Unit of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200. We want to make sure he’s held accountable for everything he has done," said Judd.

Basta was incarcerated three times between 2006 and 2011 in Tennessee for sexual battery charges.

In 2015, Basta was arrested after he groped a woman at a Lakeland Panera restaurant. In 2023, Basta was arrested for groping a woman at a Starbuck’s in Lakeland and charged with violation of probation and felony battery. He was released from prison on October 18, 2024.

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