Crime & Safety

Dunedin Man Arrested in Molestation Case

Pinellas County Sheriffs detectives say the victim was abused over an eight-year period.

A Dunedin man faces molestation charges, after detectives allege that he sexually abused a girl over a period of eight years in Palm Harbor.

Zachary Watton, 21, of 415 2nd Ave., was arrested April 30 on two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.

Detectives say that the suspect voluntarily came to the sheriff's administration building for an interview and admitted to the incidents.

Watton started abusing the girl when she was 4 and continued until she was 12 years old, according to detectives. The victim is now 14.

Detectives began investigating the case on March 21, after the victim disclosed to her parents that Watton had inappropriately touched her over a period of several years, a Pinellas County Sheriffs news release states.

Watton is in custody at Pinellas County Jail.

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