Deputies arrest man for lewd acts on Siesta beach

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 69-year-old man for allegedly exposing himself to two 14-year-old girls at Siesta Key public beach Thursday, April 18.

A Sarasota County lifeguard told deputies Tom Petcher, a Hillsboro Ill. resident, pulled down his bathing suit and tried to rub his buttocks against the two girls swimming at roughly 2:30 p.m. Petcher continued swimming towards the girls on his back while exposing himself for 15 minutes.

Deputies confronted Petcher in the parking lot. The Sheriff’s Office charged Petcher with two counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, both of which carry a $7,500 bond.