$100K for an 8-year-old girl: Port Orange police say elderly sex offender tried to buy child
An elderly registered sex offender is in jail after approaching a woman at a grocery store and offering to buy her 8-year-old daughter for $100,000, Port Orange police said.
Hellmuth Kolb, 85, was booked Thursday evening into the Volusia County Branch Jail on a charge of violating his probation, which stems from his pleading no contest to charges of false imprisonment and battery in August 2019, records show.
Port Orange police said Kolb approached a woman in Winn-Dixie, 4025 S. Nova Road, on Aug. 16, and began commenting on her daughter's appearance and asked for the girl's age, according to the arrest report.
When the woman exited the store, Kolb shouted to get her attention and approached her, saying he wanted to "make a deal" with the woman and would give her $100,000 for the girl, the report states. Bystanders asked Kolb why he would make such comments, to which Kolb laughed before walking back into the store.
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Police, who were already familiar with the suspect, approached Kolb at a bench outside of the store and asked if he'd offered money for the woman's child, to which Kolb laughed and said "We all like kids," according to the report. Officers escorted Kolb to his vehicle while his wife finished shopping.
Kolb, originally from Austria, pleaded no contest in August 2019 to false imprisonment and battery charges; he was sentenced to five years of probation, according to court records.
Conditions of his probation, which stem from a similar incident that occurred outside of the Port Orange Walmart in 2018, state that he cannot have contact with minors, except for family members, and he must be accompanied in large retail stores/malls, according to the arrest report. Kolb told police Thursday that he didn't recall what occurred at Winn-Dixie.
Suspect offered to buy child in 2018
In the September 2018 incident, Kolb sat down on a bench next to a woman and her 8-year-old daughter outside of Walmart and began asking questions about the girl and offering to buy her, according to the police report. Hellmuth began touching the girl's arms and legs and when she tried to get up, he grabbed her arm, pulled her toward him and kissed her wrist.
When police interviewed Kolb, he said he couldn't remember touching or grabbing the child, according to the report.
Police said anyone who may have had similar contacts with Kolb to contact Kelsie Nugent, a detective with Port Orange police, at 386-506-5894 or knugent@port-orange.org.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida sex offender, 85, offered woman $100K for child, police say
