A 21-year-old man was arrested after allegedly groping a mother shopping with her two young children inside an Antioch Walmart and making sexually suggestive comments towards her, police said.
The Antioch Police Department was called at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday to the Walmart, 475 Route 173, for a report of a sexual battery that occurred.
Antioch Deputy Chief of Police Geoff Guttschow said that a 34-year-old mother was shopping in the store with her two children when she was approached by a man.
The man, later identified as Brandon J. Perez, 21, of the 40000 block of Route 83 in Antioch, allegedly started making comments about the woman’s appearance while they were in the Halloween section of the store, Guttschow said.
Perez then approached the woman from behind and grabbed her genital area over her clothing and made “sexually suggestive statements towards her,” Guttschow added.
The woman slapped Perez’s arm and screamed, causing him to walk away from her. The woman was able to take photos of Perez before he left the store.
Antioch police posted the photos on their social media and within 12 hours they received a tip from an area resident who identified Perez as the suspect. Police arrested the man on Sunday afternoon.
He was charged with one count of battery, which is a class A misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Perez has since been released after posting bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on October 15.
“This case was brought to the swift conclusion of an arrest because one of our citizens took an interest in helping make their community safer,” Guttschow said.