PALM COAST, FL — A 34-year-old Daytona Beach man already serving a federal prison sentence faces new state felony charges after a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) investigation revealed he cornered a 15-year-old boy in a local gym’s locker room, exposed himself, and tried to force his way into the minor’s shower stall.
Craig Stevens Jr. has been formally charged with one count of Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition by an offender 18 years of age or older on a victim younger than 16. The state arrest warrant was officially served to Stevens inside a federal correctional facility, where he remains locked up on unrelated fraud convictions.
Gym Locker Room Ambush Captured on Camera
The incident occurred on February 25 at the Planet Fitness located on State Road 100 in Palm Coast. FCSO deputies rushed to the fitness center after management reported an active sex offense in progress inside the men’s locker room facilities.
According to gym security logs and surveillance footage, Stevens entered the facility at 6:59 a.m. by scanning a membership card belonging to an unsuspecting family member. He bypassed the workout floor and went directly into the locker room area.
Once inside, Stevens stripped completely naked, entered a shower stall, and intentionally left the privacy curtain wide open. The 15-year-old victim walked into the room, spotted Stevens exposing his genitals, and immediately turned around to avoid any interaction.
Hoping to isolate himself, the teenager—who deliberately left his clothes on because Stevens’s behavior made him deeply uncomfortable—entered a completely separate shower stall across the room and pulled the curtain tightly shut.
While the minor was showering, Stevens stepped out of his stall, walked over to the victim’s closed shower, and aggressively yanked the curtain back to expose himself a second time. The teenager immediately yelled, “No!”
Stevens paused, stared at the victim, and stepped forward, stating: “I thought you said I join you?”
The teenager shouted “No!” a second time. Realizing the victim was not going to comply, Stevens quickly dressed, exited the locker room, and fled the building. In total, gym surveillance footage verified Stevens stalked the locker room area for 27 minutes.
Fabricated Alibi Crumbles Under Photo Lineup
FCSO detectives took over the case and conducted a formal, blind photo lineup with the survivor. The teenager identified Stevens with absolute confidence as the man who had breached his shower stall.
When detectives subsequently tracked down Stevens for a formal interrogation, he denied ever being at the Planet Fitness or having any involvement in the incident. However, investigators easily dismantled his alibi by matching his physical description and timeline directly against the gym’s digital check-in logs and high-definition surveillance feeds.
Following a comprehensive review of the file, the State Attorney’s Office approved a high-level felony warrant for his arrest.
Suspect Is a Convicted Felon and Federal Inmate
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly highly commended the young victim’s quick, decisive actions to halt the predator’s escalating behavior:
“This behavior is predatory, disgusting and illegal, and perverts like this only increase their aggressiveness. I commend the teen victim for the way he handled this perverted encounter and immediately reporting it. He likely protected others from becoming victims of this predator.”
Stevens has a lengthy, multi-jurisdictional criminal footprint. He is currently serving a four-year, six-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to federal charges of Conspiracy and Aggravated Identity Theft. In that federal case, prosecutors proved Stevens stole the social security and personal data of an elderly victim, using the information to hijack bank accounts and secure fraudulent credit cards and loans totaling nearly $20,000.
Furthermore, Stevens’s prior state criminal history in Florida includes multiple felony convictions for burglary of an occupied dwelling and possession of stolen property, alongside misdemeanor convictions for retail shoplifting, petit larceny, and criminal trespassing.
Stevens will remain in federal custody and will be transported to Flagler County to face the new child exploitation charges upon the conclusion of his federal prison term.