A known sex offender was arrested for groping a 16-year-old girl at a Chick-fil-A, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. It happened just before 3 p.m. Thursday at the restaurant on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland. The teen told deputies she was doing schoolwork at a table in the Chick-fil-A when a man, later identified as 57-year-old Awny Basta sat down directed behind her. "She told detectives that she felt something touch the upper part of her buttocks several times. When she turned around to see what was touching her, she saw that it was Basta’s hand," the sheriff's office wrote. Detectives say the teen then confronted Basta, which led him to flee the restaurant. Chick-fil-A staff followed him and provided ongoing updates on his location to sheriff's office dispatchers. Basta reportedly boarded a city bus as it headed north on South Florida Avenue. That's when restaurant employees flagged down the bus driver who stopped and asked Basta to leave. Polk County deputies found Basta in a nearby parking lot and arrested him. He refused to speak with investigators. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/crime/man-arrested-groping-16-year-old-girl-lakeland-chick-fil-a/67-1fc17c02-67e6-4833-b5db-97ff16af96b1