The driver told the 10-year-old, ‘Come here pretty girl.’ Deputies came instead

A 35-year-old man was arrested Sunday afternoon after he tried to lure a young girl into a vehicle, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Rolando Bautista has been charged with luring or enticing a child for unlawful purposes, the release said.

Witnesses detained Bautista until deputies arrived.

According to the sheriff’s office, the mother of a 10-year-old girl reported to authorities that Bautista had driven past a residence several times in the 5700 block of 13th Street East in the Oneco area.

As the girl was walking in the front yard to a neighbor’s house, Bautista parked his car, the release said. He then allegedly told the victim: “Come here pretty girl, get in my car and we will go to the park.”

The girl immediately ran inside to tell her mother.

Witnesses then confronted Bautista and detained him while deputies were summoned. He was arrested without incident, the sheriff’s office said.

According to jail records, Bautista was previously arrested in Manatee County on July 9, 2005, on a charge of DUI and operating a vehicle without a license.

This story was originally published February 4, 2018 at 8:05 PM with the headline "The driver told the 10-year-old, ‘Come here pretty girl.’ Deputies came instead."