Thomas Callaway, the 43-year-old runner from Georgia, who recently became infamous for slapping a TV reporter, Alex Bozarjian, 23, while she was delivering a live broadcast, has been identified and has been facing a lot of backlash from the public, as well as from the authorities.
Reports indicate that Callaway has been arrested as a result of the incident and has been charged with sexual battery.
It is not clear if the misdemeanor will go anywhere and if he will be convicted of anything. Still, many members of the public have expressed their approval of the move to arrest him, pointing out that this should have been done right when he attacked the reporter in the first place.
After turning himself in, Callaway was released on a $1,300 bond. The man reportedly works as a youth minister and is a leader of a group of Boy Scouts.
This has painted his situation in an even more controversial light, as some have called him out on the fact that he is allowed to work with children while behaving like that in public.
There have been no comments from the man himself after he initially apologized for his behavior.
His claims that the whole thing was an accident and that he never meant to do what he did not seem to go anywhere, as not many people were willing to believe him.
In fact, some have been even more critical of him following his recent comments, claiming that he should at least own up to what he had done instead of trying to evade his responsibility.
Moreover, the WSAV-TV anchor has said that she was not ready to accept his apology and is now represented by famed attorney Gloria Allred. She is reportedly satisfied with what the authorities are doing now.
The lawyer said in a statement: “Alex Bozarjian is glad that law enforcement is taking this matter seriously. She feels that a reporter should be able to do her job without being assaulted.”
She continued with: “Alex wants to thank the members of the public who have reached out to her to offer support. If this case goes to trial, she will be a witness. For that reason, she will have no further comment until the case concludes, but she does hope that there will be a just result.”
The journalist has received a lot of support online after the Savannah Bridge Run incident.
One commenter shared: “He knew what he was doing…he got caught now he wants to act correctly…”
However, a small group of people saw a double standard in the way Callaway was portrayed in the media.
A critic stated: “But if it were a male reporter being slapped on the ass by a female nothing would happen.”
It seems that the process could take a while to resolve itself, especially with Callaway’s attorney, W. Joseph Turner, arguing that what he did was not criminal.
