Crime & Safety
Man Accused Of Showing Teen Porn Images, Saying He Wanted To Have Sex With Her: Cops
A man who failed to register as a sex offender after a 2003 conviction in Polk County is accused of sending nude photos of himself to girls.
POLK COUNTY, FL — A Bartow man faces video voyeurism of a child under 16 charge after deputies accused him of recording a teenager undressing in her bedroom, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Robert Scott Bartow, 46, told the victim after he showed her pornographic images on his cell phone that wanted to have sex with her, investigators said. He allegedly sent two nude photos of himself to another teen girl.
Detectives said he confessed to his crime Monday, and he knew the victims were minors. Scott has been classified as a sexual offender by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement due to a 2003 Polk County conviction for lewd or lascivious battery on a victim 12-15 years old.
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Police said Scott had failed to comply with the registering requirements of his sexual offender obligations by not reporting a vehicle he owned, a new phone number and a new Facebook account.
"A leopard can’t change its spots…and it’s obvious Robert Scott hasn’t changed his deviant ways," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "He is the kind of person we don’t want to be near children. Hopefully, he’ll be held accountable and sent to prison where he won’t be able to victimize children. He obviously did not learn anything from his first conviction and placement on the sexual offender registry.”
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Robert Scott Bartow faces the following charges, according to the sheriff's office:
- Video voyeurism of a child under 16
- Lewd/lascivious conduct
- Use of communication device to commit felony
- Transmit material harmful to a minor
- Sex offender failure to register
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