Woman at jewelry store recounts details of harassment she endured: 'Shameless acts'

The incident took place yesterday at around 16:30 at a jewelry store on İsmet İnönü-1 Caddesi in Hoşnudiye Mahallesi, Tepebaşı district. According to information obtained, a man identified as M.A.D. (45) entered the store posing as a customer. Claiming he intended to make a bulk purchase, the man asked for assistance from the female staff. Yaren Y. (28), a store employee who tried to help the customer, was subjected to physical harassment by the man.

He performed shameless acts in front of the woman

Initially unable to understand what was happening, the woman went to the cash register to scan the barcodes of the products and calculate the total. The man, who asked for a stool to sit on while waiting, then exposed his genitals in front of the female store employee. Police intervened after screams were heard from inside, and the perpetrator was handcuffed and taken into custody. After completing procedures at the police station, the man was referred to court today, where it was learned that he was arrested and sent to prison on charges of "Simple sexual assault."

"While handing over the baskets, he first made contact with my chest area"

Yaren Y., recounting what she went through, said: "First of all, the man came in as a customer. Then he said he was going to make a bulk purchase and started picking up all the products by hand — products were scattered everywhere, even onto the display rods. We started handing him baskets since it looked like a large sale. While handing over the baskets, he first made contact with my chest area under the pretense of looking at my necklace. I didn't understand what had happened at first. Then he continued picking up products. Then he made the same contact again, this time touching more forcefully. After that, he said something like, 'What a beautiful necklace you have.' I said, 'What do you think you're doing?'"

"While I was dealing with the products at the register, I looked up and he was performing shameless acts right there"

Yaren Y., explaining that she informed the plainclothes police officers outside, said: "I asked the officers to come inside. They came in and started observing the man's behavior. Then the man said, 'I've decided on everything I want, I'll take all of these.' He locked us in at the register. Meanwhile, the man said, 'Can I wait here — do you have a stool?' I gave him a stool and he sat down. I was scanning the barcodes of the products at the register and counting them. At that moment, I was about to say, 'You can wait outside if you'd like,' when I looked up and the man was performing shameless acts right there. Then I screamed, 'What do you think you're doing?' The officers immediately turned and came back. I instantly asked for the camera footage. The footage came right away and I showed it to the officers. They immediately handcuffed him and put him in the car."

"My blood ran cold, because it happened in broad daylight with people inside"

The victim also stated that the man continued to maintain eye contact with her even while inside the police vehicle, and went on to say:

"He was grinning in a ridiculous way. Afterward we went to the hospital, and when we crossed paths there he was again staring at me with a fixed gaze. I feel terrible — I couldn't sleep last night, the incident keeps going around in my head and I keep tensing up; I'm having panic attacks. My blood ran cold because it happened during the day, with people inside. It started at around quarter past four and lasted until 16:30–16:50. It turns out this man had a prior incident like this. I hope people like him get the punishment they deserve."

News Source: İHA