Man grabs woman’s butt, says she has no rights because she’s Mexican, CA police say
A man was arrested on multiple charges, including a hate crime, after he was accused of grabbing a woman’s buttocks, California police say.
While the 43-year-old woman shopped at a Westminster retail store the morning of Friday, Nov. 8, “she reached down to pick up an item” in the laundry aisle, the Westminster Police Department said in a news release. The name of the store was not publicly released.
“Without provocation and against her will,” a man “grabbed her buttocks with both of his hands,” police said.
She stood up and threw an item at him, according to police.
The man told her, “You don’t have rights because you’re Mexican and I can do what I want to,” the woman told police.
As the woman spoke to the man “in disgust,” he “stuck his tongue out and moved it up and down in what she perceived as sexual in nature,” according to police.
She called 911, police said.
Officers spoke with the woman about the incident and found the man, who was still inside the store, police said.
After collecting evidence, speaking with the pair and confirming the woman wanted to press charges, the man was arrested on a hate crime and sexual battery charge, according to police.
McClatchy News reached out to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and is awaiting a response on formal charges.
Westminster is about a 30-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Man grabs woman’s butt, says she has no rights because she’s Mexican, CA police say."
