A Marathon man who landed himself in jail on Friday for stalking received additional charges after a teenage girl reported the same man grabbed and kissed her at a soccer game.
Julio Roberto Melendez Chavez, 54, was charged with battery, stalking and interfering with the custody of a minor, in addition to his earlier charges of stalking.
On Monday, a Marathon woman reported that a man, later identified as Chavez, was following her in the Marathon Home Depot parking lot. According to the victim, Chavez drove slowly and honked his horn as he followed her, and later attempted to convince her to get in his truck. The victim said she later saw Chavez again in the same vehicle at the Marathon Community Park the next day. He reportedly followed her a second time, again trying to convince her to get into his truck. The victim said she feared for her safety in both incidents.
The victim took down his license plate number, and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office subsequently used that to find and arrest him on Friday.
Simultaneously on Friday, a 16-year-old girl told her school resource officer that a stranger, later identified as Chavez, approached her and several friends while they were watching a soccer game on Thursday. The victim reported that she initially believed Chavez to be a parent, but he followed the girls from the bleachers to the amphitheater. At some point, the victim was separated from her friends, and Chavez approached her and began talking abou t inappropriate subjects, such as a desire to have sex with children.
The victim attempted to leave, but Chavez grabbed her by the arm. According to the report, the victim agreed to take Chavez’s phone number out of fear, which was later used to identify him, although he gave his name as “Julio.” Chavez reportedly tried to convince the victim to get into his truck to ride home, but she refused. As she left, the victim said Chavez hugged her, moved his hand to her rear end and then kissed her on the neck.
Chavez was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Detention Center.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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