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Man Accused of Kidnapping, Abusing Boy Who Was on His Way to School in Tamarac

A man has been arrested after authorities say he abused a 13-year-old boy who he had offered a ride to school in Tamarac, and officials are worried there may be more victims.

Andrew Demart Jewell, 28, was arrested Tuesday on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim between 12 and 16 and false imprisonment, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Jewell remained behind bars on $15,500 bond Wednesday, Broward jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.

According to an arrest report, the boy said he was walking to school Tuesday morning when he reached a strip mall at N. Pine Island Road and W. McNab Road in Tamarac.

The boy noticed that a light gray GMC Denali was following him through the parking lot, and the driver stopped next to him, rolled down the window and offered him a ride to middle school, the report said.

The boy accepted and got in the passenger seat, but on the way to school, Jewell drove into a neighborhood near Northwest 94th Avenue and 91st Street and parked the car, the report said.

As they sat in the car, Jewell demanded that the boy touch his nipples, the report said.The boy refused but Jewell grabbed his hands and forced the boy to rub his nipples, the report said.

At one point, Jewell pulled the boy's pants down and tried to touch him, but the boy pushed him away and started screaming that he was going to call the police, the report said.

The boy said he asked Jewell several times to take him to school, and said he couldn't get out of the car because he was scared and was afraid the man would chase him and hurt him, the report said.

Surveillance footage showed the car they were in was parked at the location for about five minutes, the report said. The victim, who was eventually driven close to his school, was able to identify Jewell as the man who committed the crime, the report said.

When speaking with detectives, Jewell admitted to picking up a child and dropping him off near his school, the report said.

Detectives believe Lowell may have approached other children in the area and used a rental car in order to hide his identity during the crime. Anyone with information is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

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