Man gropes women across three stores in 10 minutes, police say
Man accused of sexual battery on multiple women
Cobb County police jailed a 35-year-old man on sexual battery and obstruction charges after he allegedly groped women across three Austell retail businesses and later slipped out of his handcuffs.
AUSTELL, Ga. – A 35-year-old man is in the Cobb County Jail after police said he groped women across three businesses in roughly 10 minutes.
Austell store groping suspect
What we know:
Cobb County police arrested 35-year-old Orlandus Sims last Wednesday following a string of reported grope incidents along the East-West Connector in Austell.
Investigators said the spree began shortly after 7 p.m. when a woman sitting on a bench at Panera Bread had her breast grabbed and squeezed. Court records show Sims then went inside a neighboring Target, where he rode a scooter cart and grabbed another woman’s behind.
Officers said Sims immediately walked to a nearby T.J. Maxx, spotted a woman in an aisle, went up behind her, and intentionally grabbed and squeezed her bottom.
When police arrived at the shopping center, Sims tried to run. Officers caught up with him and took him into custody.
While being transported, Sims managed to slip out of his handcuffs, leading to an additional charge of obstruction. He is currently being held without bond at the Cobb County Jail.
What we don’t know:
Officials have not yet confirmed if Sims has retained legal representation.
What they’re saying:
Shoppers in the plaza expressed shock over the rapid sequence of events.
“It’s crazy that’s happening here,” shopper Sinndy Gomez said. “It’s scary to think that you feel comfortable coming out to stores out here and to hear that people like that are doing stuff to women.”
“He’s a pervert, like eww,” shopper Brandon Peeples said. “I think it’s crazy that women have to worry about stuff like that.”
Shopper Tiffiney Gibson noted the need for extra vigilance, saying, “We don’t need people like that around our area. You gotta watch your back anywhere you go in these days, like I said I’m licensed to carry, I don’t play that.”
“He definitely needs some help and be removed from society and get some help and maybe he can get back into society as a good person,” shopper Hafiz Rahman said.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Cobb County police officers, court documents, and interviews conducted by news reporters on scene.
