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According to an arrest report, Ronald Arnold approached a woman at the store who was with her children and asked them if they liked trains
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is asking people who may have had recent dealings with a sexual offender to come forward.
CCSO says Ronald Arnold, 86, was arrested Wednesday on charges related to luring and enticing a child. Arnold is currently a registered sex offender.
Detectives say the incident occurred at the Dollar Store located in Fort White.
According to an arrest report, Arnold approached a woman at the store who was with her children and asked them if they liked trains. He told the woman that the kids could come over to his house and play with the trains of they wanted.
The report says that Arnold gave the woman a piece of paper with his name and address on it, and proceeded to verbally explain how to get to his house.
He told the woman that she could sit on his porch while he took the kids inside and showed them his collection
She told police that she looked up his name later and found that he was in the sexual offender database.
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Detectives believe there may be others who have information regarding this case, or possibly other incidents involving Arnold which may have not yet been reported.
Multiple people reportedly have had similar experiences with Arnold, according to comments on a Facebook post made by the sheriff’s office about his arrest.
“When I ran the Fort White Fedex route, this guy asked me if I had children. I said yes…he told me he has toy trains in his camper/home and asked me to bring the boys and drop them off one day while I work, and they could play with is train sets,” commented Joni Railey.
“He was in the hardware store and started a conversation with my son about coming to his house to see his trains! I thought it a bit odd now I know why I had that strange feeling,” commented Tami Pricket.
These accounts have not been verified by police.
Anyone with information regarding Arnold is asked to contact Detective Perez or Detective Roberts at 386-758-1095.
