Man accused of fondling girl, 13, in front of horrified family on Folly Beach

A 67-year-old man is accused of sitting on a 13-year-old girl and fondling her during an ocean-side encounter on Folly Beach Saturday morning, police said.

Fred Alexander Rogers of Folly Beach is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor. He is being held at the Charleston County jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.

The girl’s family told public safety officers that an older man approached them, uninvited, at 9:22 a.m. and sat down on the girl’s legs, trapping her on the ground. They had never seen the man before.

The girl told police the man started rubbing her legs and genital area. The girl’s grandmother rushed to her aid and pulled her to safety, police said.

The family told the man to leave them alone and then went into the water to wait for him to go, police said. They waited for 20 minutes, but the man just stood there staring at them, police said.

When a lifeguard finally told the man to leave, he began loudly cursing and yelled at the girl’s family that “he would return and do as he pleases with them,” according to a police report.

A county parks employee told public safety officers that multiple complaints had been lodged against the man – later identified as Rogers - for approaching people and making them feel uncomfortable, a report stated.

Rogers left the park soon after police arrived. After learning of the alleged assault, investigators got a warrant and arrested him.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or Twitter.com/glennsmith5.