Police: Sanford prowler arrested after vulgar message left on teen's window

SANFORD, Fla. – A teen suspected of peeking into the bedroom window of a 17-year-old girl and leaving a vulgar message turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday, Sanford police said.

"(Tuesday) morning, an arrest was made in connection with this incident," Sanford police tweeted. "The juvenile suspect, accompanied by his parents, turned himself in at the Sanford Police Department's Public Safety Complex."

Police said the teen's parents became aware of their son's involvement after seeing the story shared by the media.

The girl's mother, Juanica Fernandes, said Monday that the prowler has had a powerful effect on her family over the past month. 

"(He's been) bold enough to violate (our) privacy, go through (our) fence, walk around another fence and and go peek in (the) window," Fernandes said.

Fernandes' daughter had been telling her for weeks that she felt as if someone were watching her, and then earlier this month, the girl woke up to a vulgar message written in marker on the glass, Fernandes said.

The situation started with innocent notes written to her daughter that had been left in the mailbox, the girl's mother said. Then, a couple of weeks later, the unsettling message was scribbled on the bedroom window. 

"He basically described how he felt about my daughter's body parts and how it made him feel -- in a disgusting way," Fernandes said.

After reporting the incident, Sanford police came out to her home on Sandpoint Court and installed surveillance cameras. Five days later, police said, they captured the teen on video near a window at the house. 

"There's an impression of his face on her window," Fernandes said. "(The) creepiest thing is to see someone's left ear and face pressed against your daughter's window, directly pointed at her bed."

The teen, whose name has not been released, faces charges of loitering/prowling and criminal trespass.