OCOEE, Fla. – A registered sex offender in and out of prison for decades is back in the Orange County Jail after police say he exposed himself to drivers outside a Popeyes in Ocoee Tuesday morning.
Authorities identify the suspect as 65-year-old Michael Knight. The arrest happened along West Colonial Drive, a little more than a mile from Ocoee Elementary, according to information provided in the report and reviewed by News 6.
The new case comes while Knight was out on bond for an April case, prompting concerns from parents about why he was released and whether repeat offenders should face tougher consequences.
“I don’t want to be outside where there is a risk of that happening to me and my family,” said Orange County parent Katy Torres.
News 6 reviewed Knight’s criminal history with attorney Raymond Traendly, managing partner of TK Law.
“When you have these serial offenders who are not rehabilitated from their long or short stints in jail, there needs to be some additional action,” he said. “Whether that’s the legislature figuring out a way to impose stricter penalties for these crimes, or whether it’s the judicial system taking a deeper look at what the ultimate cause is.”
Records show Knight was found guilty of indecent exposure in Orange County in 1986.
A 2002 Volusia County case placed him on the sex offender registry, involving a victim under 16, according to court records.
Arrest records also show a 2012 incident at a Maitland park in which a woman reported Knight ran up to her and said, “I’m about to get naked.” The State Attorney’s office ultimately dropped those charges, claiming it did not have enough evidence to move forward.
The next year, Knight was found guilty of felony indecent exposure again. Records show a responding deputy asked whether Knight knew what he did was wrong, and he replied, “Yes, sir.”
In 2022, records show Knight was arrested near a Burger King about three miles from the Popeyes location, where witnesses claimed he exposed himself outside. Prosecutors later dropped those charges, but the arrest remains on his record.
Knight remains in the Orange County Jail, and his bond was revoked on the April charge. News 6 requested a response from the State Attorney’s Office and had not received one as of publication.