ENGLEWOOD —The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested Englewood resident Mathew Casey Faling, 32, of the 1300 block of Le Pera Drive, on Tuesday for allegedly having sex with two underage girls.

According to an SCSO report, on Oct. 1 detectives received a report from a school resource officer that the two 15-year-old victims were having sexual relations with Faling. Two witnesses had told the SRO that both victims had confided that they had sex with a man named “Matt,” later identified as Faling.

In an interview with detectives Tuesday, one of the girls said she had sex with Faling once. The other victim said she had sex with Faling on at least 15 occasions, the report states. She also told detectives that Faling was a family friend who would pay her $20 to babysit his 3-year-old son. The activity occurred over the past month at his home in Englewood.

Faling was charged with 16 counts of sexual battery on a child under the age of 16. He remained at the Sarasota County Jail on Wednesday without bond.

Report: Man
used email, texts
to lure child

NORTH PORT — North Port police arrested a 23-year-old Bradenton man Oct. 5 after he allegedly emailed and texted a 13-year-old girl about meeting for sex.

According to a North Port Police Department report, Justin Michael Ready-Baker used both email and text messages to send several messages to the victim stating he wanted to perform a sex act on her and that he also wanted the girl to perform a sex act on him. Ready-Baker then traveled to meet with the girl.

He was arrested Friday afternoon on Toledo Blade Boulevard and charged with using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child and traveling to meet a child after using a computer to lure a child. He posted $11,500 bond and was released from the Sarasota County Jail.

Sheriff’s Office warns of more phone scams

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about two more phone scams.

In one instance, a caller claiming to be from Publisher’s Clearing House tried to convince a Punta Gorda woman that she had won a sweepstakes prize. This scam works by having the victim buy a prepaid debit card made out to the scammer, then calling the scammer and giving him the card number. The scammer then goes to the store where the card was purchased and claims the cash.

The victim asked someone for a ride to CVS to buy the debit card, and this person asked for help from her neighbor, Sheriff Bill Cameron, who talked to the victim and told her it was a scam. The CCSO warns residents to never pay anyone for something you are told you have won.

In another scam, a man claiming to be with Microsoft called a woman living on Jones Loop Road and offered to fix her computer problems. The woman, who just happened to have issues with her computer, followed the caller’s instructions by typing in information that gave him control of her computer, authorities said. The caller asked for her bank routing number. The victim refused to give it to him, but she did provide him with a credit card number. The woman called the CCSO, and a deputy told her to contact her bank and cancel the card. The deputy noticed the scammer still had control of her computer, and he advised her to take it to a computer shop and have it scanned for malware.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

• David Scott Adams, 43, 6000 block of Safford St., Punta Gorda. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

• Bret Robert Clark, 46, 21300 block of Glendale Ave., Port Charlotte. Charges: battery and violation of protection injunction. Bond: none.

• James Anthony Cox, 43, 300 block of Millport St., N.W., Port Charlotte. Charges: DUI and DUI with property damage. Bond: $2,000.

• Crispin Lee Bray, 48, 18800 block of Ashcroft Circle, Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of probation (original charge: driving with an expired license for more than six months). Bond: none.

• Craig Gardener Courtney, 39, 2400 block of Ambrose Lane, Port Charlotte. Charges: dealing in stolen property and fraud. Bond: $7,500.

• Hector Figueroa Cuellar, 53, 13800 block of Dudley Ave., North Port. Charges: operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and fraud. Bond: $1,500.

• Robert Earl Hardison, 31, 5200 Naples. Charge: failure to register as a sex offender. Bond: $2,500.

• Harry Lewis Claridy, 53, Fort Lauderdale. Charges: burglary and grand theft. Bond: none.

• Ryan Michael Alderman, 33, 5000 block of Placida Road, Englewood. Charges: failure to appear and petty theft. Bond: $7,000.

• Matthew Ryan Krejci, 27, 10200 block of Waterford Ave., Englewood. Charge: fraud. Bond: none.

• Rick Alan Carroll, 54, 800 block of E. 2nd St., Englewood. Charge: Sarasota County warrant. Bond: $10,000.

• Maryo Alcides Gonzalez-Fuestes, 21, 1600 block of Banyan St., Venice. Charge: DUI. Bond: none.

• Jeffery Francis Bellomo, 22, 200 block of E. Tarpon Blvd., Port Charlotte. Charge: violation of probation (original charges: two counts of uttering a forged instrument and grand theft). Bond: none.

The North Port Police Department reported the following arrests:

• Jesse Dudash, 19, 5500 block of Taneytown Square, North Port. Charge: driving while license is suspended or revoked. Bond: $120.

• Brian Edward Chapman, 55, 7900 block of Jeffrey Avenue, North Port. Charges: possession of marijuana, possession and/or use of narcotic equipment, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond: $1,240.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported the following arrests:

• Heidi Jean Hallaran, 32, 400 block of Washington Ave., Osprey. Charge: battery. Bond: none.

• Alfred Elmer Szady, 51, 6100 block of Deming Ave., North Port. Charges: trespassing, resisting an officer without violence and contempt. Bond: $5,000.

• Shellie Rose Sayles, 31, 100 block of N. Auburn Road, Venice. Charge: contempt (original charge: child neglect). Bond: none.

— Compiled by Drew Winchester, Christy Feinberg and Anne Klockenkemper

•

Alexandria L. Barrett, 24, of Stratford Road, Englewood. Charge: violation of probation (original charges: fraudulent use of a credit card and theft). Bond: none.

• David Evan Libby, 43, 6200 block of Damming Drive, North Port. Charges: battery and trespassing. Bond: $1,250.

• Paul Damiano, 21, of Bay Acres Avenue, Osprey. Charges: aggravated battery and burglary. Bond: none.