A man with a criminal history of groping and sex offenses was arrested in Polk County for inappropriately grabbing a 16-year-old girl at a Chick-fil-A.The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Awny Abdel Malek Basta, 57, of Lakeland, was charged with lewd and lascivious touch.Basta was arrested on Thursday after an investigation revealed that he repeatedly touched the buttocks of a 16-year-old girl at a Chick-fil-A at 4635 South Florida Avenue.According to PCSO, deputies responded to the restaurant around 2:55 p.m. Wednesday. The victim told investigators that Basta sat at a table directly behind her at the restaurant while she was doing schoolwork. She said she felt something touch the upper part of her buttocks several times, and when she turned around, she saw Basta touching her with his hand. PCSO said that the victim then confronted Basta, and he left the restaurant.Restaurant staff tracked the suspect with PCSO dispatchers on the phone as he boarded a bus. PCSO then said that the restaurant employee flagged down the bus, and the suspect was asked to leave the bus.The suspect was then found by patrol deputies in a nearby parking lot and detained.PCSO said Basta has a history of groping women and sex offenses. He was incarcerated three times between 2006 and 2011 in Tennessee for sexual battery charges, and in 2015, he was arrested after he groped a woman at a Lakeland Panera Bread and subsequently served 180 days in jail for battery. In 2023, PCSO said Basta was also arrested for groping a woman at a Starbucks in Lakeland and charged with violation of probation and felony battery.He was released from prison a little over two months ago, on October 18.Polk County Sheriff Grady said that due to his extensive criminal history, there could be more victims.Awny Basta is a pervert and a sex offender with an extensive criminal history. Because of his history, our detectives believe its possible that there are additional victims out there. If anyone thinks they may have been a victim of this man, please contact the Special Victims Unit of the Polk County Sheriffs Office at 863-298-6200. We want to make sure hes held accountable for everything he has done, Sheriff Judd said.