Lewd Behavior In Publix Parking Lot Prompts Arrest

HUDSON, FL — A 20-year-old Hudson man faces criminal charges after Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies say he drove up to a woman and her children in a Publix parking lot and proceeded to masturbate in front of them.

According to the sheriff’s office, the woman was walking through the parking lot of the 14801 State Road 52 store around 4 p.m. on Feb. 11. She had her two children in the shopping cart with her, when a vehicle came up by her side. The driver, identified as John Paul Funcheon, is accused of making eye contact with the woman while proceeding to masturbate, an arrest report said.

Realizing what was happening, the woman proceeded to yell and said she was going to call the police, the report said. When she did call authorities, she was able to provide not only a physical description of the man who accosted her, but also his license tag.

Deputies caught up with Funcheon on Feb. 13 after the woman also identified him in a photo pack, the report noted. Funcheon was charged with lewd or lascivious exhibition on a victim under 16. Deputies say he admitted to the incident after his arrest. Funcheon is also a suspect in three additional cases involving exposure of sexual organs, an email from the sheriff’s office said. Those cases are still under investigation with no details being released at this time.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office