A Georgia man who slapped a reporter’s backside while he was running past her during the Enmarket Savannah Bridge 10K Run has been arrested and charged with sexual battery, according to the Chatham County Sherrif’s Office.
The incident, which was caught on camera because the reporter was broadcasting when it happened, went viral on the web as the internet quickly tried to identify the man who touched the reporter’s backside and kept on running. As you might have guessed, it didn’t take long for the internet to figure out exactly who the man was. He was identified as 43-year-old Thomas Callaway, who is a youth minister in the area.
Callaway turned himself in Friday and was later released on $1,300 bond.
Caught On Tape
The incident was caught on tape by WSAV, which you can see below.
Had this incident happened in Minnesota, the man would likely be facing a charge of criminal sexual conduct in the 5th degree. That statute is classified as the intentional touching of someone else’s private parts, buttocks included, without their consent. It’s considered a gross misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $3,000 and up to a year in jail.
This is a harsh lesson about unintended consequences, because while Callaway seemed to be trying to make a joke on camera, the woman he touched clearly felt violated by the incident, and you simply cannot touch someone else like that in today’s day and age. Callaway did sit down with the reporter last week and issue a face to face apology in which he said “I am sorry. I did not mean to do this. I think you’re a great, great asset to this community and to the local media and to the national media. You’re very talented. You’re an amazing woman from what I’ve gathered, and I apologize.”
From other reports, it sounds as if both the reporter and Callaway are trying to move past the incident and make it a learning experience for everyone. The reporter handled the situation very professionally and has helped foster discussion about boundaries in the wake of the incident, and hopefully Callaway isn’t permanently criminally marred by a stupid mistake he made in the heat of the moment. Let’s all learn from this.
