Hurlburt airman charged with child molestation

Tech. Sgt. Robert Edward Curran, 39, of Navarre, was arrested Oct. 14 on two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation violations on a victim under the age of 12, a felony charge.

Authorities were notified of Curran's actions with an 11-year-old girl following a cyber bullying presentation at Woodlawn Beach Middle School on Sept. 27, where the girl attends school. The presentation began with a short video to clip involving an adult male and a young teenage female. During the presentation, the male gets the female to lift up her shirt for him. The clip ends with references regarding reporting child abuse.

Kathy Pacheco, victim advocate for the State Attorney's Office, asked the class if there was anything about the clip that bothered them. Pacheco immediately noticed that Curran's alleged victim was bothered by the presentation, according to a Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office report.

The victim told Pacheco and school guidance counselors, along with a sheriff's deputy, about Curran's alleged inappropriate touches to her private area.

According to the girl, Curran was married and currently separated from her mother. While her brothers and mother were out one day, Curran drove by the house and assaulted her, touching her and asking her if she wanted to touch him.

The girl told authorities that the inappropriate touching happened on more than one occasion. Curran threatened to harm the girl's mother and brother if she told authorities.

Curran is currently assigned to the 801st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.