Deputies: Girl Groped In Disney Pool
Teen Says Man Repeatedly Touched Her In Wave Pool
POSTED: Monday, July 6, 2009
UPDATED: 7:32 pm EDT July 6,
2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A man has been arrested after a teenage girl accused him of touching her inappropriately in the wave pool at a Disney water park.
The 15-year-old victim told security the man crashed into her in the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon, pulled her bikini top and bottom off and groped her breasts. She said she walked away from the man, but when another wave came, he crashed into her again and grabbed her bikini top, deputies said.
The teen left the wave pool and told her father, who reported the incident to security.
Sgt. Keith Hubbard watched the man from a security control room and reported seeing a man repeatedly position himself in front of young girls in the wave pool and dive under water and attempt to remove their bathing suit tops
Several Disney employees reported seeing the same thing, deputies said.
Lifeguards removed Robert Double Jr., 52, from the wave pool and he was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 16 after the victim identified him.
Only one other victim was found, but her father said he did not want to press charges.
There have been two similar incidents in recent weeks involving teens being groped in wave pools at water parks. One at Aquatica and another at Wet 'n Wild.
All three attacks have occurred with girls aged 12-15.
"Some people are fixated around that age when puberty blossoms," Dr. Allen Grieco said. "There's that quality of innocence that has a certain attraction to people that have pedophilia."
Grieco said busy and loud theme parks can work as a disguise to those preying on children.
Grieco said 80 percent of sexual offenders who are caught and punished will not strike again over a five to 10 year period, but those who are not caught will often commit more crimes against children.
"They're out there and they look just like everybody else. You cannot tell -- other than most of them are men. Could be any age," Grieco said.
Bond for Double has been set at $5,000.
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