A 31-year-old armed movie theater security guard has been arrested and charged with raping a child inside of the theater.
On Jan. 15, the Ocala Police Department was notified of a sexual battery that occurred the night before at the Hollywood 16 movie theater located at 2801 SW 27th Ave.
Officers were informed that a 15-year-old victim was sexually battered by an armed security guard working at the movie theater.
According to police, on Jan. 14, the victim said she went to the theater with her friends to watch a movie and that she was dropped off by her mother. After the movie, her friend’s grandfather arrived to pick up her friends; however, refused to offer the victim a ride home.
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The victim tried calling her mother several times but could not get a hold of her. A security guard for the theater, Augusta Williams, 31, informed the grandfather that he would watch over the victim until she could get a ride home.
Alone with Williams, the victim was then led to an empty theater where the movie “Whale” was playing. Inside the empty theater, Williams led the victim near the movie screen, behind the curtains. The victim thought Williams was leading her to a backdoor exit and assumed that the security guard would drive her home. Instead, Williams raped the victim behind the curtain.
The victim did not want to have sex, but she was fearful because Williams was armed with a gun. The victim told Williams to stop but he continued to assault her. Williams eventually stopped and threatened her not to tell anyone.
Both exited the theater, and the victim was picked up by her mother. The mother’s phone was not working properly, but she was concerned for her daughter when she did not come home when expected, and so she drove to the theater. The victim told her mother of the incident the following day.
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Detectives contacted the movie theater management and retrieved video surveillance footage of Williams and the victim walking together through the movie theater hallways and both entered an empty theater and exited approximately 20 minutes later.
OPD Evidence Officer Patterson, utilized UV lighting behind the curtain and located areas that exhibited a glow, indicating a possible positive response for evidence. When asked about what happened, Williams stated that he assisted the victim in looking for her lost cell phone. However, the movie theater they went in was not the one the victim was in previously.
“Based on the information given by the victim, the evidence located and collected by our officers, and Williams’ statements which contradict what the victim stated, there was probable cause for his arrest,” said Ocala Police.
Detective Kern arrested Williams for Sexual Battery of a Victim less than 18 years old (Armed). He was taken to the Marion County Jail.
Williams was a security guard for Knights Security of Gainesville Public Safety.
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