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PROWLER'S TRUE ID: A WANTED PREDATOR

 
Published May 19, 2011

University of South Florida police posted signs warning students to lock doors and close blinds after a prowler arrested outside Kappa Delta House this month turned out to be a wanted sex predator.

USF officers noticed a man they thought was suspicious wandering through the Greek Village around 3 a.m. May 6, so they watched and waited.

The man crouched in a unlit area and peered through a window at the Kappa Delta House.

When confronted, he said he was looking for someone and provided what he told police was his name, but could not produce any valid identification.

He was then arrested on a prowling charge and jailed at a Hillsborough County jail in lieu of $250 bail.

But a fingerprint analysis revealed that the man was actually someone other than he had claimed to be.

The analysis showed he was Jeremy Steven Cary, 27, of Knox County, Ill., a sexual predator who was arrested in March 2010 on a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim age 13-16, records show.

He was convicted, but failed to register as a predator and fled. He was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service.

USF police Lt. Chris Daniel said the officers likely prevented a serious crime.

Police do not know why Cary came to Florida. He is facing an additional charge of obstructing an officer, and awaits transfer back to Illinois.