Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 6:44 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 6:44 p.m.
Herald-Tribune

SARASOTA COUNTY — With help from the U.S. Marshal's Office, sheriff's deputies tracked down and arrested a suspected child molester on Thursday.

Deputies found Eric Miranda-Lopez, 28, in the 1100 block of 40th Street in Sarasota. Miranda-Lopez had been deported to Mexico in July by federal immigration officials.

He told deputies he re-entered the U.S. in September.

Now he is accused of child molestation, after a 10-year-old girl told detectives that Miranda-Lopez inappropriately touched her as she slept. The child told her mother, who confronted Miranda-Lopez on Thursday. He ran from the home before deputies arrived.

Miranda-Lopez is charged with lewd or lascivious molestation and is being held in the Sarasota County jail without bail. Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have also placed a hold on him, a precursor to deportation proceedings.

Sarasota deputies arrest man in child molestation | HeraldTribune.com