Woman says she was sexually assaulted by man posing as APD officer

ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta woman says she was sexually assaulted in a southwest Atlanta gas station by a security guard posing as an off-duty Atlanta police officer.

The January 2016 incident is still under investigation. Christina Eaves told Channel 2 Action News that she'd pulled into the Cleveland Avenue Chevron station in the early morning hours of Jan. 26. She left her young son and cousin in the car to pump $40 worth of gas, then she ran in to use the bathroom.

She said a security guard stopped her.

“He stood up and told me I couldn’t use the restroom,” Eaves said. “I had to use their employee restroom. Their restroom was down.”

Eaves said the guard unlocked the employee bathroom, and she locked it behind him. Then she heard the key turn.

“He used his key, unlocked the door, exposed himself and grabbed me from behind,” Eaves said. “He pulled my pants, I was wearing leggings, to about an inch or two above my knee.”

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Eaves said she bit and kicked and fought the guard off as he ran behind her to her car, telling her he was APD.

“He pulled out his cellphone and was pretending to be on the phone with his sergeant, his supervisor, telling him that he had a white woman trying to false accuse him for rape,” Eaves said.

According to an APD report, an officer responded to a nearby McDonald’s where Eaves was able to call 911.

“He said, 'I’ve got officers on the way. He’s no officer of mine. He’s never been APD. He’s never worked for me,'” Eaves said.

The report details her account of the alleged assault and notes neither gas station management nor the clerk was able to access the surveillance from that evening.

There was an arrest made. The guard was identified as Frank Opurum, and APD charged him with forgery that night. They said he was carrying a fake Georgia driver’s license and signed off on the police report with false information.

Channel 2’s Nicole Carr found the forgery charges were in line with a slew of identity fraud-related charges Opurum has faced since 2009.

Carr also spoke with gas station management about the alleged assault on Friday. A manager told her he did not believe his contracted security guard attacked Eaves. He said Opurum told him he’d simply gone into the bathroom to give her paper towels.

The manager gave Carr Opurum’s cell number, but a message stated he was not accepting calls.

Eaves said she is looking for closure in the open case. Channel 2 reached out to APD on Thursday for an investigation status update. They told Carr on Friday that they were still working on the request.

“I’m told there’s cases above mine,” Eaves said. “They’ll get to me when they can get to me.”

Eaves said she decided to show her face on television to warn others, and bring attention to her ongoing fight.

“Every day, women and children go past him and they use that same restroom and he still has a key to that restroom,” Eaves said.

Cox Media Group