PALM BAY, Fla. – A man was arrested after stalking a 15-year-old girl who was walking home from her bus stop.
According to Palm Bay police, 29-year-old Joseph Thompson called the victim over to his car just after 4 p.m. in the area of San Filippo Drive and Witchita Boulevard. When the girl kept walking, he got out of the car and chased her.
"My little sister is freaking out right now," the victim's brother told a 911 dispatcher. "He started following her, honking the horn at her and then he got out of the car, started walking. She called me crying, saying there's a guy following her."
The hysterical 15-year-old called her brother as she said Thompson followed her down residential streets near her home. He first followed her in his truck, then got out of the vehicle and ran after her barefoot.
He reportedly said, "Don't worry, I'm just going on a little jog," and asked her how school was.
The victim made it to her home, locked the door, and called her brother and mother, who then called 911 while Thompson paced back and forth outside, police said.
"There's a man following my daughter," the victim's mother told a 911 dispatcher. "She's in the house. She's very nervous. She hears somebody still outside."
Police said Thompson was found nearby with a condom in his pants pocket, and a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Thompson was charged with felony stalking and a misdemeanor drug charge. He is in jail with a $10,000 bond.
Local 6 spoke with the girl and her parents, and they said the fact that that suspect could get out of jail at any moment worries them.
However, if freed from jail, authorities have requested Thompson be fitted with an electronic monitor, which means he won't be allowed to go near that girl, other children or schools.