St. Petersburg Times
 tampabaycom
tampabay.com
Print storySubscribe to the Times

Sex offender accused of preying on girl

By Times Staff Writer
Published October 27, 2004

TAMPA - A 22-year-old sexual offender was arrested after a 14-year-old girl told police he enticed her to a hotel room and had sex with her.

Harry Huggins Jr. had moved to the Tampa area from outside San Antonio, Texas, likely around July, said Tampa police Detective Jackie Potenziano. He lived with an aunt before moving near the University of South Florida, she said.

In August, he met the girl on a bus, and persuaded her to accompany him to University Mall and a movie, then took her to a motel where they had sex, according to police. The girl told her family what happened a few weeks later, and they reported it to the police, Potenziano said.

Texas authorities told the detective Huggins was a registered sex offender who had assaulted an 8-year-old girl when he was 15. She tracked him to the woman's house in Tampa and arrested him Oct. 21. He has been charged with lewd and lascivious battery, and was released from the county jail the next day after posting $15,000 bail.

[Last modified October 27, 2004, 00:18:19]


Hillsborough County headlines

  • Lineman for Storm arrested in fatality
  • Townhome leaks, cracks just start of owners' pain
  • Mystery malady trails charity luncheon event in South Tampa
  • Gas smell, singed hair point to arson suspect
  • Tampa employees get paid time to mentor kids
  • Sex offender accused of preying on girl

  • Briefly
  • Gun, ski mask mean arrest
  • Back to Top

    © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
    490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111