The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) yesterday arrested James Russell Martin, 72, of Sanford, for lewd and lascivious molestation after he inappropriately touched a 4-year-old girl.
Yesterday at approximately 2 p.m., deputies responded to the BJ’s Wholesale Club, located at 4270 West State Road 46 in Sanford, in reference to a call of a man inappropriately touching a young girl. Deputies made contact with the victim’s mother who reported that she became alarmed when an unknown man approached her and her daughter while they were shopping. The man stroked the child’s hair and commented on how pretty she was. The mother then stepped between the two, but the man proceeded to reach around her and touch the child near her upper thigh area. The male suspect then left the scene. The victim’s mother immediately alerted BJ’s employees of the incident and called 911. The mother then went outside and noted the suspect’s vehicle information, including the tag number.
Deputies were able to review surveillance video of the incident and identified the suspect as James Russell Martin. A short while later, deputies made contact with Martin at his Sanford residence and took him into custody without incident.
Martin was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim less than 12 years of age and was booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility where he is being held without bond. He is scheduled to attend first appearance today at the jail at 1:30 p.m.
Investigators are looking into the possibility of additional victims and are asking anyone with information to call the Sheriff’s Office at 407 665-6650.
