A sex offender with ties to The Villages has been jailed after he was caught with two iPhones, in violation of his probation.
Michael Lewis Young, 58, was arrested Tuesday at his home at 804 Crestview Circle in Wildwood, during a visit by his probation officer.
Young has previously lived in the Ventura Villas in the Village of Hillsborough and in the San Leandro Villas in the Village of Santiago.
During the probation officer’s visit, two iPhones were found in a towel hamper in the home’s master bedroom. Both iPhones were fully charged and there were chargers plugged into outlets in the home. One of the iPhones started ringing with an online banking alert.
Young is on felony sex offender probation through 2044 and a stipulation of his probation is that he cannot possess a cell phone with internet access.
Young was taken into custody and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center.
Young was living in Dunwoody, Ga. when he was arrested July 31, 2010 on two counts of criminal attempt to commit child molestation, two counts of criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation and computer pornography.
Young visited Craigslist and looked in the “Casual Encounters” section for sexual companionship, according to court documents. He encountered a listing seeking a “discreet” male who “would like to teach the finer aspects of life to a young female friend of mine.” The listing was placed by a police detective working with an FBI task force investigating crimes against children. Young responded expressing interest, describing his body and penis size and attaching a photo of himself in the nude.
The detective and Young then proceeded to negotiate a meeting time and place. The detective described two fictitious “beautiful stepdaughters,” ages 14 and 12. Young later asked if the girls were developing breasts. Young promised to teach the girls how to properly perform oral sex.
A meeting was set up at a hotel, where Young was arrested. The entire email exchange took place over the course of four days. At the time of his arrest, Young’s license plate had been removed, and, as discussed in emails, Young’s vehicle contained a pack of condoms and some wine coolers.
