WADESBORO — Police arrested a man Saturday accused of groping a preteen girl.
Lushawn Jeffery Simon, 38, is charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and felony taking indecent liberties with a child, according to jail booking records. Wadesboro police list Saturday as the date for both incidents.
Simon allegedly assaulted an 11-year-old girl, “grabbing and squeezing her bottom and thighs,” according to the arrest warrant.
State law defines the latter charge as taking or attempting to take “any immoral, improper or indecent liberties” with a child under 16 “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire” or committing or attempting to commit “any lewd or lascivious act upon or with the body” of a child under 16.
A person convicted of the Class F felony faces a presumptive sentence of 13 to 16 months in prison under North Carolina structured sentencing guidelines.
Simon served probation on a September 2014 conviction of misdemeanor assault on a female in Anson County, according to the N.C. Division of Adult Correction.
He was booked into the Anson County Jail under a $75,000 secured bond and his first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.