Tavares police investigating two suspicious luring cases

TAVARES, Fla. – The Tavares Police Department is looking for two men who may have been trying to lure a woman and were caught making inappropriate hand gestures in public.

"It's disturbing," resident Diane Cassidy said.

News 6 caught up with Cassidy while she was walking to the Tavares Public Library. On Saturday, library staff told police they saw a man acting weird and making inappropriate sexual hand gestures. 

"It's a place where you should be able to go for anything, take a break, take a breather, read a book. Not worry about some perpetrator," Cassidy said.

Library staff told police the man seemed creepy. He was staring at people and loitering.

"When someone is kind of leering, or kinda just sitting there gawking, looking around, kind of backing up in a corner, it's just kind of odd," Lt. Jason Paynter with Tavares police said.

Staff told police they saw the man make inappropriate hand gestures and mimic a sexual act on himself.

"Doing some things that maybe aren't illegal, but definitely weird and we don't necessarily want them in a public place like that," Paynter said.

Paynter tells News 6 then a couple days later there was a similar incident on Ianthe Street, just a couple blocks away from the library. A woman was walking down the road near Tavares High school when a car pulled up next to her.

"The gentleman rolled his window down and made a motion to her as far as inappropriate, you call call inappropriate," Paynter said.

Police say the description of the men in both cases are similar. Both were described as black or dark skinned men. In the incident on Ianthe Street, the victim reported the man was driving a black Dodge Charger.

Paynter says officers are investigating to see if both incidents are connected.

He adds while they are suspicious and creepy, they are not criminal acts.

"We want to find out who is behind it and we want to make sure it just stays to the odd level and doesn't go any further," he said.

Until they are caught, residents say they are keeping a closer eye out for anyone acting suspicious.

"It's very concerning for me as a parent. You don't know how he is going to act and you don't know what he is capable of," Cassidy said.

Tavares police are stressing they don't think there is a sexual predator on the loose. They say these are the only two cases of this kind they are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tavares police.