An employee at the 7-Eleven on Horsham Road in Montgomery Township was recently arrested after he allegedly pulled a female worker into a back room, groped her chest, and attempted to kiss her.
Rasiklal Chovatiya, 54, of Montgomery Township, has been charged misdemeanor indecent assault along with summary counts of harassment and disorderly conduct, in connection with the July 27 incident. No mugshot is available, and bail has not been set as the charges were filed via summons and Chovatiya has not yet been arraigned.
Montgomery Township Police were dispatched to the 700 block of Horsham Road at 11:58 p.m. for a report of a male employee causing a disturbance. Arriving police made contact with a female employee, who pointed at Chovatiya and said, “He is misbehaving, and he touched me,” according to charging documents.
The woman told police she had exited a back room into the store to notify Chovatiya that she had finished cleaning the coffee pots, at which point Chovatiya allegedly grabbed her by the arm, pulled her into the back room, put his arm around her, then groped her and leaned in to kiss her. The woman reportedly pushed Chovatiya away, clocked out and began walking home, police said.
While being interviewed by police, Chovatiya advised that he grabbed the woman by the arm, pulled her into the back room and put his arm around her, but nothing else happened. He then stopped talking, police said.
Investigators said they continued to question Chovatiya, and when asked why he brought the woman into the back room, he replied “my mistake.” When asked if he had groped the woman’s chest and attempted to kiss her, Chovatiya allegedly advised that he did.
A preliminary hearing for Chovatiya has been scheduled for Sept. 12 at 9:15 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy. He will also be arraigned at that time.
Two days after the incident, the same 7-Eleven location was robbed at gunpoint. Montgomery Township Police Chief Scott Bendig said there’s no known connection between the alleged indecent assault and the robbery — the later of which remains under investigation by area police and the FBI.
See also:
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