Eric Anderson - Repeat Sex Offender - Targeted Mom to get to daughter

PALM BAY, Fla. -- Palm Bay police said a registered sex offender has been arrested, accused of a sex crime against a child for the third time.

Police said Eric Anderson was arrested at about 5 p.m. on Monday. They said he had been convicted of two sex crimes in the past and was released from prison in May.

Police said after he was released he befriended a woman with an 8-year-old daughter and molested the girl after picking her up from school. Officers said the victim's mother walked in as Anderson was about to perform oral sex on girl.

"Her other daughter was in the hospital. She was in a tough spot. She needed a favor. She turned to the wrong person, and this guy took advantage of her," Palm Bay Police Department spokesman Gregory Guillette said.

Anderson is a registered sex offender. Officers said he served seven years in prison on charges of attempted sexual battery by an adult on a child under 12.

Investigators said the girl is not only the victim of Anderson, but the victim of a system that let her down by failing to place stricter standards on sex criminals.

Anderson's only requirement was to report his address once a year.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"

.........Sarah Tofte