MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A woman and two young girls waiting at a pedestrian crossing along Lincoln Road became the victims of a disgusting act Wednesday morning, according to Miami Beach police.
Police said the woman and the girls, aged 7 and 2, were at the popular retail strip and waiting to cross Washington Avenue just before 11:30 a.m. when a 39-year-old homeless man, later identified as Pedro Maldonado, approached them.
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According to an arrest report, the woman, a family friend who was taking care of the girls that day, told police that Maldonado said to the 7-year-old, “Que preciosa esta,” Spanish for “how beautiful she is.”
He then asked if he could touch the girl and proceeded to expose himself to the woman and both girls, police said. The report states he also asked the girl to touch his penis.
The report states that the woman, in fear for the children’s safety and her own, “used her arm to create distance” from Maldonado.
Police said he grabbed the woman’s arm as she tried to get away, but she was able to free herself from his grip.
Maldonado then “proceeded to urinate on the public sidewalk while continuing to expose and touch his penis/genital area,” the report states.
The victims went into a nearby Ross Dress for Less store to hide, police said.
Authorities said the incident was reported to police about an hour later and a Ross security guard was able to direct police towards Maldonado.
Police said Maldonado gave authorities a fake date of birth and Social Security number while being detained.
The report states city surveillance cameras “recorded an interaction” between the victims and Maldonado.
Maldonado was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on two felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition on a child under 16 and misdemeanor counts of lewd and lascivious behavior, battery and providing a false identification after arrest.
His bond was listed in online jail records as “to be set.”