A man named Bera Shivakrishna was arrested after he allegedly groped a woman dressed in an Easter Bunny costume at a mall near Pittsburgh.
The woman was taking photos with children at the South Hills Village Mall in Upper St. Clair on Monday when the man approached her and started asking her questions, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KDKA-TV.
‘It’s a doll, right?’
The woman referred him to an assistant, but he allegedly refused and then groped the victim, according to Upper St. Clair police.
Shivakrishna allegedly touched her arm, then the top of her chest, and finally grabbed her breasts.
The assistant said he was asking, “Is it a boy or a girl?”
He also put his fingers in the nose and mouth of the bunny costume.
Police identified a suspect after reviewing the mall’s security video and speaking to the alleged victim as well as the assistant.
Shivakrishna was found sleeping in the top row of seats at a movie theater near the mall later that afternoon.
Police said he asked them, “Is it on the close to Five Below, the merchandise thing, the bunny?”
After being read his Miranda rights, he allegedly asked, “It’s a doll, right?”
When told the victim was not a doll, he allegedly responded, “By mistake, my hand touched her, if it’s a lady.”
Shivakrishna was identified through his New Jersey driver’s identification and charged with indecent assault. He is being held on a $10,000 bond at the Allegheny County Jail.
Shoppers at the mall told WPXI-TV that the man should definitely face a stiff sentence for the incident.
“This is horrible. I can’t believe this would happen at our local mall. It’s the Easter Bunny,” local resident Jenn Herrig said.
“All kinds of people would have seen this. If I would have been there with my son, I would have just been appalled. We would have gotten out of line and had to leave,” she added.
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