Uniondale man accused of forcibly touching women in Walmart stores, police say
A Uniondale man was arrested Saturday after Nassau police said he forcibly touched women in Nassau County Walmart stores on three occasions going back to June.
Police were called to the Walmart store on Old Country Road in Westbury Friday after a 27-year-old woman said she was touched inside the store. Officers arrived and began searching for the man but were not able to find him, police said.
After an investigation, Benjamin Francis, 32, was arrested at his home Saturday and charged with three counts of forcible touching.
During the investigation, police determined Francis should be charged with touching a 28-year-old woman at a Walmart store on Jerusalem Avenue in Uniondale June 13 and an 18-year-old woman at the Walmart store on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow on July 1.
Francis was held on bail of $5,000 bond or cash and a temporary order of protection was issued against him in First District Court in Hempstead Sunday. An attorney representing him could not be reached.
Anyone else who believes they may have been a victim is asked to call Third Squad Detectives at 516-573-6353.
Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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