Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has received multiple reports of a man distributing obscene materials to women along Euchee Creek Trails in Grovetown.
Incident reports say the man approaches women, requesting they take his picture on his cell phone. When he hands them his phone, sexually explicit content is on the screen.
One woman reported that when she brought this to the man’s attention, his demeanor changed quickly from friendly to angry.
According to reports, the incidents began in early April. Reports began coming in once women started hearing of similar events occurring along the trail and came to believe that the subject purposely intended for the images to be seen.
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One of the victims, who has asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of the case and the fact that it remains ongoing, said that it was thanks to her neighborhood’s Facebook community page that she learned of other women being approached.
According to that woman, another woman asked on the community page if anyone else had seen the man on the trail. The post explained that when the man first approached, it was to ask for her to take his picture, at which time he showed the explicit content. He later approached a second time to ask her for a hug.
The post prompted several women in the neighborhood to comment about their similar experiences over the past weeks.
“The investigator actually contacted me because the investigator lives in my neighborhood and saw the Facebook post too,” the woman said.
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The victim said that while at first the incident seemed relatively harmless, as new information came to light, she realized why it was so important to file a report.
“Those kind of people escalate,” she said. “That’s scary to think about.”
The subject is described as a 5-foot-7 to 6-foot tall black male between the ages of 18 and 24 with short hair.
“Avoid walking alone when possible, carry pepper spray or other protective devices, have cellphone readily available, stay alert and report suspicious activity/persons,” says Major Steve Morris, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anna Porzio is a researcher and editorial assistant. Reach her at anna@theaugustapress.com.
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