A young Sudbury mom took her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to a city Walmart last Friday night, hoping to see the cleaning robot there. It is the little girl's favourite activity, a visit she insists on at least twice a week.
Asking that her last name not be published, the mother, Jessica, said she never could have imagined the visit would end with assaults, and what might have been an attempted kidnapping and an arrest.
But on April 21, that’s exactly what happened.
At the end of the ordeal, the man who attempted to grab her child was apprehended by Greater Sudbury Police.
She took her daughter on one of their usual trips to the store. It was a Friday night, around 8 p.m., but the robot cleaner was nowhere to be found. Jessica and her daughter headed to the back area of the store, near the women’s washroom, to see if the robot was charging in its usual area.
When they got there, looking for the robot, Jessica said a man was suddenly near her, as though he had popped out of nowhere. He was quite lanky, she said, thin and black, and very tall, Jessica recalled, standing well over six feet, she estimated.
She said she initially thought he was an employee leaving after a shift. He spoke to Jessica and she said he was initially quite friendly.
Jessica introduced herself when he asked her name. When he asked her daughter what her name was, Jessica answered on behalf of the little girl. At that moment, she said the man’s demeanour abruptly changed.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” the man said.
She thought it was a comment on the girl’s name. Jessica said she was taken aback by his gruff tone. The man then asked her daughter, in the same gruff tone, if he could pick the little girl up.
Jessica said he told him no.
“I wasn’t talking to you, b*tch,” she said the man replied. “I was talking to your daughter.”
Jessica said her internal warning bells began to go off.
He then tried to touch her child. The little girl said “no,” and moved behind her mother’s leg.
Jessica picked up the child, and said the man sneered at her, “Oh, you’re picking her up now?”
She said at this time he also began moving closer and closer to them.
Feeling very uncomfortable and threatened at that moment, Jessica, who is also 26 weeks pregnant, said she just started running, hoping to find help. She said she had no idea where to go or what to do, she just wanted to get her daughter away from the man, as he chased them through the store, Jessica said.
Thankfully, as she ran with her child in her arms, she came upon three Walmart employees. Racing to them, she called out for help saying she did not know this man and he was trying to take her child. As she blurted out what was happening, the employees formed a human wall in front of the man, frantically pushing Jessica behind them to protect her.
He shoved his fists between the employees, trying to break the wall, injuring the employees in the process. They firmly and repeatedly told the man that if he did not stop and leave the store they would call the police. He continued unabated, grasping at anything he could reach, seemingly in an attempt to touch the girl.
As Jessica stood behind the employees, clutching her daughter, the man continued to push and pull, trying to grab the little girl. At one point, he got his fingers on her coat. Jessica said all she could do was cry and hold on for dear life.
He continued to scream that he would not leave the store until he could hold the little girl.
Undeterred, Jessica said the Walmart workers stood steady, protecting the girl, even though the man would go on to punch one of the employees, assault the others and break the phone of someone who was recording the interaction.
Jessica said she is eternally grateful to the people who called the police, though she is unsure who it was. She said within minutes, GSPS were on the scene.
Jessica didn’t witness the arrest. Police and employees took her to another room while officers took the man into custody. He was not charged with resisting arrest. Jessica did say an officer who responded told her the man was known to police.
Kaitlyn Dunn, GSPS spokesperson, told Sudbury the 20-year-old man has been charged with three counts of assault, mischief under $5,000 and “criminal harassment – repeatedly follow.”
Jessica said she was unsure about speaking to the media or telling anyone, but she decided she wanted to protect others who may experience the same thing.
“I was hemming and hawing about whether I should say anything, but I don't want it to happen to another woman,” she said.
Sudbury.com requested an interview with the Walmart employees that helped Jessica. Though the employees were willing to speak of the incident, their corporate communications prevented them from doing so. Walmart communications would not provide comment on the incident.
While her daughter has already started asking about a visit to see the robot, Jessica said it might take her a little while to be comfortable again.
“But we’ll be going back,” she said. “I’m not going to let him take that from her.”
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com.