TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A North Carolina man is behind bars in Leon County, accused of asking a 12-year-old child to "pleasure him" before touching himself in front of the child.
Bernard Wardrick, 24, was arrested on Tuesday for lewd or lascivious exhibition.
According to a complaint document, the incident happened on May 26, 2015 and was reported to the Tallahassee Police Department the next day.
The then 12-year-old victim said that Wardrick, who was 21 and living in Bainbridge, Georgia at the time, was a family friend known to the victim as "Junior".
On May 26, the victim was waiting in the car with Wardrick as the victim's sister was having surgery. After being woken up from a nap, the victim and Wardrick went inside the hospital to use the bathroom.
While walking there, Wardrick said he needed to use the bathroom but couldn't because he was aroused. The victim noted that Wardrick kept his hands in his pants and was touching himself.
Documents say the victim tried to steer the conversation in a different direction after expressing disgust with Wardrick, but he kept bringing it back up, saying that "If [the victim] was a little bit older, [the victim] could handle it for him."
Again the victim expressed disgust, but Wardrick kept going and told the victim they could "do it now" in the bathroom and "it would be our little secret."
According to court documents, the victim didn't want to do it and let Wardrick know that. However, Wardrick continued to ask the victim to "pleasure him."
Eventually the two went into the recovery room with the victim's sister before coming back to the car. Once back in the car, Wardrick, who was sitting in the back seat, began touching himself in front of the victim.
The victim, who was in the passenger seat, quickly turned around and began crying silently while "Wardrick started laughing."
Documents say that soon, the victim's family, along with Wardrick, packed up and traveled back to Georgia. That evening, the victim told a relative what happened.
The next day, the victim's mother learned what happened and victim's step-father confronted Wardrick. Wardrick denied exposing himself to the victim, saying the victim was too young.
Based on victim and witness testimony, a warrant was issued for Wardrick's arrest on August 5, 2015. On Thursday, he was taken into custody, nearly three years after the incident occurred.
Wardrick was in court for his first appearance on Wednesday. A judge denied bond and ordered that Wardrick have no contact with the victim, wear a GPS monitor, have no interaction with the internet and
