After being fired from a job where he allegedly flashed a young girl, Adam Tharp spent his spare time stalking children at libraries in hopes of exposing himself to them.

Tharp, 24, of Winter Haven, pled guilty to lewd or lascivious exhibition Friday. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 15 years of probation, by Judge Abdoney, who said Tharp’s actions were “alarming.”

The first reported incident was in May 2015 when Tharp was working at an auction house. A little girl went to the concession stand to get Cheetos and Pepsi, and she said Tharp turned around to face her with his genitalia out.

The child immediately ran back to her mother and told her what happened. Tharp claimed that the girl saw his finger and nothing else, but he was fired shortly after.

A year later, in May of 2016, Tharp began frequenting libraries in Polk County, specifically in Lakeland and Winter Haven.
Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy said he would walk through the aisles of the children’s section and peek through the bookshelves to find little girls who were not with their parents. Evidence showed that Tharp crouched down and showed himself to at least one girl at the Winter Haven library.

Security footage from both libraries caught Tharp stalking little girls. Tharp admitted it was him in the video and told detectives he has a desire to expose himself to young girls.