A man has been arrested following allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women at a Walmart store. Amherst Police responded to a call on February 18th regarding a male who was reportedly touching female shoppers inappropriately.
Investigators revealed that two women reported the man had splashed Elmer's Glue on their backs, buttocks, and legs, and then attempted to wipe the glue off by touching their private areas. Police were able to locate and apprehend the suspect, identified as Sujiewan Satgunaraja, who now faces two counts of Forcible Touching.
The Amherst Police are urging anyone who may have experienced similar incidents to report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement immediately.
The sexual misconduct allegations were made public after Julie Anne shared her experience with Niagara Action earlier in February. The full statement is provided below:
Tonight, around 7:00 PM, I was at Walmart in Amherst, NY, when a man approached me and said I had something on my back. When I reached around, I felt a wet, sticky substance. Immediately, I took off my jacket and placed it on the cart to see what it was. As I grabbed a napkin from my pocket to wipe it off, the man suddenly flung or squirted more of a white, sticky substance all over my back onto my sweater.
He then pointed out that I had more on my backside and began rubbing his hands all over me. Before I could react, he groped me-first on my hip, then on my right buttock. I was in shock but managed to push his hands away. He lunged toward me again and started pressing himself against me and rubbing against me. I loudly yelled "No!" and told him to stop, but he didn't.
I ran to the nearest Walmart associate for help, but they did nothing. I went to the door greeter-again, no response. I continued asking for help and for security, but a third employee brushed me off. It wasn't until an off-duty sheriff saw me, visibly shaking, that someone finally intervened. He was kind, asked if I was okay, and helped me provide a description of the man while helping me wash my very shakey hands.
While we were speaking, an associate returned and mentioned that another woman nearby had experienced the exact same thing. The sheriff and I went to check on her—she was just as shaken as I was, and her story was almost identical to mine. She had already called 911 & was just as upset as I was. It happened to her roughly 20-30 minutes previously. This disgusting man was still in the store, waiting for someone else. The police arrived and started sorting out what happened. Luckily, the sheriff found the guy and he admitted to everything.
We both pressed charges and had to go to the police station to file statements and request orders of protection. It turns out the man is 24 years old, a bio-nuclear med student at UB and admitted to targeting four women today.
This was absolutely terrifying. I'm sharing my experience to warn others-please stay aware of your surroundings and be safe. I cannot believe this happened tonight, thank you to the Amherst police department and the off duty sheriff for finding the man and arresting him.
Man Charged with Inappropriately Touching Women at Walmart