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A GEORGIA MAN who was filmed slapping a US reporter’s rear on live TV was arrested yesterday on a misdemeanour charge of sexual battery.
Savannah police spokeswoman Bianca Johnson in Savannah confirmed that Thomas Callaway, 43, of Statesboro was charged in connection with the incident that occurred while WSAV-TV reporter Alex Bozarjian was broadcasting live as runners streamed past her on a prominent bridge in the coastal city.
“The conduct displayed toward Alex Bozarjian during her live coverage of Saturday’s Savannah Bridge Run was reprehensible and completely unacceptable,” the Savannah television station said in a statement Friday evening.
“No one should ever be disrespected in this manner. The safety and protection of our employees is WSAV-TV’s highest priority.”
Jail records showed Callaway was charged Friday afternoon. His attorney, Joseph Turner, declined to comment in an email late Friday to The Associated Press.
Video from Bozarjian’s live broadcast Saturday posted online showed one of the passing runners appearing to swat her from behind. The video shows the stunned woman stop talking for a moment and stare as if shocked. The video clip had been viewed more than 11 million times on Twitter as of Friday.
“You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me,” Bozarjian wrote recently on Twitter. “No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better.”
She told police the man had slapped and then grabbed her buttocks.
Callaway stepped forward earlier this week as the man who slapped Bozarjian. He went to the TV station to give an on-camera apology the station aired Tuesday evening.
“It was an awful act and an awful mistake,” Callaway said at the time.
Callaway said he didn’t intend to slap the reporter on the rear. He said he was raising his arm trying to pat her on the back or the shoulder and didn’t realize until seeing the video that he had touched her buttocks.
Sexual battery is a misdemeanour in Georgia, punishable by up to a year in jail. State law defines the crime as making “physical contact with the intimate parts of the body of another person without the consent of that person”.
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47! Wow I didn’t realise it was that many. RIP all very brave men
Most people don’t. ….but will quiet happily post comments slagging off or putting down our Defence Forces.
Good to hear.
In fairness though the Lebanese government only has delicate control of the country, don’t have a monopoly on military power and in a country of 4 million they have a million refugees.
Very difficult for them to resolve the issue.
..I would love to see our own president do more for the DF, he is rarely seen promoting the service & I’m almost pretty sure he hasn’t yet visited any of our troops overseas since his inauguration..
David the SLA was controlled and directed by Israel, they also killed thousands of Lebanese citizens, so I have no doubt the Lebanese government is serious about doing everything in their power to assist the Irish government.
About time …it was a case of shoot any Irish soldier they could get there hands on.
…it was a case of shoot any Irish soldier they could get there hands on.”
Such is the nature of war.
One of the chief suspects was arrested in us a few months ago where he was working as an icecream man after claiming asylum. Never heard what happened to him after though
He was allowed to immigrate to the USA because he was a member of the SLA, an Israeli controlled Paramilitary. The US authorities knew where he was all along but where reluctant to act because of his connection with Israel. He was deported back to Lebanon recently because of a campaign by Irish army veterans who managed to embarrass the US government in the media.
Boganity Brazzi is still being held in he US and has been for a number of months while they wait for the final part of the deportation process to complete. Minister Coveney met with Lebanese government to gain assurance that once he is deported back they will take action against him.
Proud to have marched with my comrades for this fight for justice.
Apologies, I thought they had already deported him. That March on the US embassy sent a powerful message, marching up in formation and standing to attention in front of the embassy in complete silence, was so different to the usual rowdy demonstrations that US embassy’s are used to meant it stood out and would have been noticed at the highest levels in Washington.
Our boys and girls are at serious risk due to Iran having armed Hizbullah to the teeth with long and short range missiles which are in tunnels right under where the UN has positioned our troops. Perhaps Mr Coveney could persuade his Lebanese counterparts to disarm these terrorists or else take our people out of the unnecessary danger they have been put in.
Such an evolved hu-man race that still use war and weapons to kill others.
Behind both sides is the unseen hand which few people know of.
There’s no conspiracy in war, war is just a testament to the brilliance of nature and it’s process of natural selection. It’s natures way of ensuring the hairless-monkey sitting at the top of the food chain has a predator. Nature has deemed that, in the absence of any other predator, the hairless-monkey is its own predator. These brave Irish soldiers risking their lives on UN peace keeping missions are part of the process of rising above that.
Uncle Mort just curious…how much are Mossad paying their internet trolls these days ?
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