A North Carolina man is facing multiple charges after being accused of attacking multiple women last Friday by "thrusting" his face into their buttocks.
Stefan Ryan Shuford, 25, of Kernersville, was charged with assault on a female and sexual battery after being detained in a shopping center on South Main Street. An officer from Kernersville police made the claims in an arrest affidavit, media outlet WGHP (Fox 8) reported.
The suspect allegedly approached three separate women from behind and forced his face into their rears. In two of the cases, he allegedly licked them from behind without warning.
The probable cause filing submitted by local police alleged the man "unlawfully and willfully did assault and strike a female person by grabbing the victim's hips and thrusting his face into her buttocks, then pressed his tongue to her buttocks on the outside of her clothing."
The filing suggested he did so "for the purpose of sexual arousal and sexual gratification."
One victim told WGHP Shuford had followed her from a shopping center parking lot to a store. WFMY-TV reported yesterday that after each attack the man fled on foot.
In court on Monday, the suspect's legal team claimed that he suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A representative for the local district attorney branded him a "danger to society," WGHP reported. He remained in the Forsyth County Detention Center on Sunday.
The Winston-Salem Journal, a North Carolina newspaper, reported that Shuford had another brush with the law earlier this month, on January 11, when he was charged with sexual battery for similar offenses. He is scheduled to appear in court on February 27 and March 6.
Kernersville Police Community Relations Officer Blake Jones told WGHP that the public should remain vigilant.
He said: "Try and get away, get some separation from the person, tell them to stop. If you are in a retail store, be loud, be affirmative or very assertive with them. Tell them stop, get away."
He added: "In this situation, there may not have been anything that the victims could have done differently. What you can do before you park your car is start looking at who is around you. When you walk into a store see if people are following you…see if anyone has taken an interest or a notice in you personally, that is going to be your number one indicator."
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