Montgomeryville 7-Eleven Employee Accused of Groping Female Worker Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charges

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

Prosecutors with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office have withdrawn charges against a Montgomeryville 7-Eleven employee who was accused of groping a female worker earlier this year.

Court records show the misdemeanor indecent assault charge against 54-year-old Rasiklal Chovatiya, of Montgomery Township, was withdrawn earlier this month during his preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy. When asked about the hearing and why the charge was withdrawn, Judge Duffy said the victim and her husband were "very adamant about resolving the case with summary harassment and disorderly conduct charges” only.

As a result, Duffy said she applied the maximum allowable fines and court costs for Chovatiya, and he was ordered to make an apology to the victim in open court.

Montgomery Township Police were dispatched to the 700 block of Horsham Road at 11:58 p.m. on July 27 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.

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