Lafayette police say it was this play area where teenager Scott Winebrinner made friends with young boys.
Boys - he's confessed - he later molested.
Captain Stacey Meeks says Winebrinner, now 16, will be tried as an adult because his charges fall within the parameters of Georgia's Seven Deadly Sins.
"There were two victims, ages 7 and 8, that lived in the neighborhood where he lived at, that he had contact with and that's where the sexual encounters happened at, was in his neighborhood," Meeks says.
Meeks says Winebrinner told investigators the abuse took place at the playground, wooded areas, and inside the housing units around Reading Circle.
Charity Word,a neighbor, says she's shocked these crimes could happen so close to home.
"You always think that it could never happen in your backyard. You see it on the news and you think it would never happen to my kid. It would never happen in my area. But as a mother I can say it could happen to anybody at anytime," Word says.
Captain Meeks says it's important to keep an eye on kids, to prevent what is often a cycle.
Meeks says the investigation revealed Winebrinner's father is in prison for molesting his own son.
"A lot of times you will see it is learned behavior. It's passed on unfortunately from generation to generation," Meeks says.
Meeks says police urge parents to keep up with their children.
Unfortunately both victims had been left unattended near the playground...and Meeks says - targeted.
"They think this is Mayberry and nothing can happen to them. I don't think that Mayberry truly exists anywhere anymore. Crime is everywhere, and even in small towns people do bad things," Meeks says.
Even at a playground it's better safe, than sorry.
In LaFayette, Brittany Shaw, WDEF News 12.
