{"id":355579,"date":"2026-07-28T23:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/355579\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T23:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:54:07","slug":"prosecutors-decline-to-file-charges-against-man-seen-on-video-yelling-obscenities-about-children-to-family-in-pompano-beach-wsvn-7news-miami-news-weather-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/355579\/","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors decline to file charges against man seen on video yelling obscenities about children to family in Pompano Beach – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Prosecutors have decided, at least for now, to decline to pursue criminal charges against a man who was caught on video yelling obscenities toward a family<\/a> in Pompano Beach.<\/p>\n

The video, which went viral with thousands of views and outraged comments, was captured by Karl Messner\u2019s wife. Messner said he was driving his family to dinner earlier this month when they came to a stop at a red light at the intersection of Sample Road and Federal Highway, and the man began shouting for his attention, asking him to roll down his window.<\/p>\n

What the man shouted left Messner and his family stunned.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much you got the child for? How much you got the children going for?\u201d the man shouted from his car.<\/p>\n

Messner said his 6-year-old daughter was in the back seat with her window down, along with the girl\u2019s grandmother, as the man repeatedly described sexual acts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much you got the babies for? Do they [expletive]? Can I [expletive] them? Do you [expletive] children?\u201d the man asked. \u201cCan I [expletive] or is it just like can I touch them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the story aired on 7News and went viral online, commentators wanted the public\u2019s help to identify the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know him, I\u2019m betting you recognize his voice. This is disgusting,\u201d said social media activist Tizzyent.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, a Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office sergeant working on the case emailed the couple an update, saying while they have identified the man as someone from out of the area, there is not much they can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rely on parents and members of our community to report concerning behavior involving children,\u201d the letter said. \u201cSeveral potential criminal violations were considered [including] Lewd and Lascivious Conduct [and] Harmful Communication to a Minor, [but] we were advised the conduct documented in the video does not provide a prosecutable criminal charge based upon the evidence available to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, BSO officials say they \u201c\u2026recognize the seriousness of this incident and share your concern\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The family was left shocked and frustrated after receiving and reading the letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, \u2018No, it doesn\u2019t meet the threshold because of\u2026\u2019 this, because of that, and, I don\u2019t know, they appear to be as frustrated as you and I are,\u201d said Karl. \u201cYou hate to say that if something else happens, \u2018Darn, we should\u2019ve done something back then.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised and shocked. I really thought that what he said would\u2019ve been enough to charge him with something,\u201d said Bethany Messner, the girl\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so comfortable, and I just want to be a voice to all the children. They can\u2019t protect themselves,\u201d said Sarah Foster, the girl\u2019s grandmother.<\/p>\n

BSO said they will continue investigating the incident and plan to speak with the man at some point.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Broward State Attorney\u2019s Office said: \u201cAs with all cases, law enforcement has been conferring with prosecutors as needed while this ongoing investigation continues. The law enforcement agency will send their findings to the State Attorney\u2019s Office when they conclude the investigation, and prosecutors will thoroughly review it before making any charging decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\tJoin our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Prosecutors have decided, at least for now, to decline to pursue criminal charges…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-355579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}