LAPLACE — A local man is in jail, accused of exposing himself to a 42-year-old female and her 12-year-old daughter as they exited a LaPlace store last week.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a store in the 200 block of West Airline Highway in LaPlace at 7:27 p.m. June 19 following a report of lewd behavior.

“The complainant, a 42 year-old female, told deputies when she and her 12-year-old daughter were leaving a store, they saw a man exposing himself,” a release from the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies identified the offender as Bruce Breaux, 54, of Janice Lane in LaPlace. Deputies arrested and booked Breaux with obscenity. He remains in custody in lieu of a $7,500 bond.”

Authorities said Breaux was found guilty of indecent behavior with a juvenile in 2001, requiring him to register as a sex offender. They also report Breaux was arrested for similar behavior last year.

“On February 28, 2013, deputies responded to the area of Emily C. Watkins Elementary School for the report of a man that made inappropriate comments to students,” a release said. “The man was working on a lot adjacent to the school, and deputies identified the man as Bruce Breaux.”

Deputies charged Breaux with unlawful presence of a sex offender within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.

Breaux has been arrested 22 times in St. John the Baptist Parish since December 1980.