SIMPSONVILLE, SC (WSPA) – Upstate neighborhood pools are on alert after a registered sex offender was discovered visiting at least one pool where he didn’t belong.
It was a lifeguard who noticed something “strange” that lead to the discovery.
Autumn Skutka, with Upstate Pool Management, was on duty last week at Sparrows Point in Simpsonville when she noticed a visitor who didn’t fit in.
“When he walked in I automatically didn’t recognize who he was. I also saw he was wearing jeans and I thought that was really odd. And he also just sat really close to a bunch of members that were younger and I thought that was really odd,” said Skutka.
When she saw him moving closer to some teenage girls, she knew it was time to followed her gut.
“I went to the moms that were sitting nearby and I asked them if they recognized him and they didn’t, so I decided that I was going to kick him out ask him to leave,” she said.
At the time Skutka had no idea he was a registered sex offender. His car license plate revealed Jason Ryan Henderson had prior convictions for “peeping” and “voyeurism.”
“It is shocking and its disturbing,” said Kim Colon, a mother at Sparrows Point.
“And it makes you very very appreciative of the fact that we have lifeguards that are paying attention,” said Melanie Strait, another mother in the neighborhood.
Within 24 hours Sparrows Point had changed the spring on its gate to make sure it closes faster. Lifeguards are hoping all neighborhoods will see this as a warning never to prop open the gate.
Other pools across the area are now on alert with his photo up on most lifeguard boards. The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office issued Henderson a trespass notice which is not an official charge, but a warning not to show up at pools where he is not a member.
Skutka says no matter the safety risk, kids at her pool should be left to focus on just one thing; having fun.
“You can’t get uncomfortable and use that as an excuse to not take action,” said Skutka.
