Two women in North Carolina have been arrested and charged with second-degree kidnapping and sexual battery of a transgender woman in a women’s bathroom.
Investigators said that Amber Harrell, 38, and Jessica Fowler, 31, followed an unnamed 29-year-old woman into the bathroom at Milk Bar last month, and locked the door. They proceeded to allegedly verbally and sexually assault her, according to the police report.
The woman called 911 the day after the incident, telling the dispatcher that Harrell and Fowler exposed themselves to her and began touching her.
According to the Daily Beast, one of the women pulled her shirt up, asking, “Do you want to see my boobies?” and pressed the woman against the wall with her bare chest.
The woman also told 911 that the assault continued at the bar.
“One of the girls [was] still touching all over me,” she said, according to WRAL. “She would not let go. I asked her numerous times. [The bartender] could see I was visibly uncomfortable.”
Witnesses told WRAL that it was clear that Harrell and Fowler were targeting the woman because she is transgender.
In 2016, North Carolina passed a law requiring people to use public restrooms associated with the gender they were assigned at birth, but rescinded it in 2017 after public backlash.
Harrell, who was arrested over the weekend, was out of jail Tuesday on a $50,000 bond. Fowler, who turned herself in on Tuesday, was released on a $30,000 bond.
According to the Associated Press, it’s unclear whether or not the two women had lawyers, and no court date has been set for their arraignment, though WRAL reports that if they are convicted, they’ll have to register as sex offenders.
