Florida nudist knocked on neighbor's 7-year-old daughter's window at midnight repeatedly, held for stalking
NAVARRE, FLORIDA: A self-professed Florida nudist was arrested and charged after he was caught on camera walking around his neighbor’s property naked at night and talking to their seven-year-old daughter. Eric Straight, 50, of Navarre, first came to the suspicion of his neighbors on August 9 when the young girl’s mother heard a knocking on the window of the room as she watched her daughter sleep, according to the Pensacola News-Journal. The mom saw a silhouette of what appeared to be a man on the other side of the glass, and her husband called law enforcement.
While nothing came from that night, the parents subsequently installed a security camera that pointed directly at their daughter’s window in the hope they would catch the culprit if he came around again.
On August 12, the camera caught a naked man walking onto the family’s property at around 11:24 pm. He could be seen approaching the outside of the young girl’s room, touching a window grill on the outside, and “contemplating on how to get around the grill.” The man eventually left and headed in the direction of Straight’s residence.
The camera caught the man snooping around again shortly after midnight August 14. The man walked towards the home and tapped on the bedroom window before leaving for several minutes and returning to knock another time. When no one answered, he left again.
On August 15, he returned wearing a “revealing thong like garment” and the security camera managed to capture a clear image of the suspect that the parents identified as their neighbor. The father then contacted law enforcement, who talked to the young girl and found Straight had spoken to her on numerous occasions.
According to an arrest report, the seven-year-old told investigators she had spoken to the 50-year-old five times after he knocked on her window. One of those times, she said she allowed him to see her with her Halloween costume on, showing him the outfit through her window.
“She believes that Straight removed a screen from the window, so she could see better. … The parents stated they have found the screen removed from her window twice,” the report said, before adding, “Straight is a professed nudist. The owners of the property and parents of the victim have specifically told him in the past, he is not permitted on their property nude.”
Straight has since been charged with trespassing and aggravated stalking of a victim under the age of 12. He was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and was released after posting a $27,500 bond.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, August 18, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson at a press conference called Straight a "scumbag" and confirmed his release but said he was given a restraining order that made it illegal for him to go near the girl.
“He knows that window belonged to the 7-year-old’s bedroom. So he knows that, and he's naked and knocked on that window?” Johnson said. “If (the girl’s father) would have come out and stomped him into a mud puddle, yeah, we would've been fine with that.”