A convicted sex offender who has been living for the past few years with his mother in The Villages, is being sent back to the jurisdiction of his original crime.
Edward Charles Wardingley, 63, was arrested Tuesday night at 1312 La Estrellita Way in the Village of Santiago on an Orange County warrant charging him with violating his probation on a charge of lewd or lascivious molestation. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center where he was being held without bond pending extradition back to Orange County.
Wardingley was convicted in 2018 of touching the breasts and buttocks of a 14-year-old girl. Wardingley had been living with the girl’s mother. He had asked to touch the girl’s other private parts, but the girl refused. He also exposed his penis to the girl “on multiple occasions.” He was sentenced to three years in prison and was to remain on felony probation through 2031.
After his release from prison, he moved in with his mother, who purchased her home in 2000, when her husband was still alive.
In 2022, Wardingley was sentenced following a drunk driving arrest at Lake Sumter Landing. This past month, Wardingley violated his Sumter County probation in the DUI case.