ST. PETERSBURG - A 19-year-old man was arrested Tuesday, accused of sidling up to a 14-year-old boy on his way to his school bus stop last month, and fondling the youngster at gunpoint.
Arterell Beaton, of St. Petersburg, was charged with armed kidnapping, aggravated assault, and lewd and lascivious molestation. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $221,013 bail.
On Sept. 26, Beaton walked up behind the teenager at 5:30 a.m. as the boy was walking in the
r
vicinity of 35th Avenue South and Sixth Street, said St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa.
At first the boy tried walking faster, to get away from the stranger, but Beaton caught up with him and started talking to him, asking him if the teen would pray wit
h him, Kajtsa said.
Beaton then pulled a gun, pointed it at the boy's hand, and put his empty hand down the boy's pants, Kajtsa said. Beaton fled once the school bus approached, and the boy reported the incident to his campus police officer.
