Cobb County

2 women say man targeted them with indecent videos in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Two women believe they were targeted in public places, in Cobb County.

They told Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell a man showed them a sexually explicit video on his phone while he was in his car.

Both women, who filed separate police reports, told police the man was inside a Toyota Corolla when the incidents happened.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Newell obtained both police reports that describe exactly what the women reported.

The first incident allegedly happened on April 28 in the parking lot of Walmart on Austell Road.

“It shocked me to the absolute core,” Amy Barnes said.

The second incident allegedly happened May 13, around 6:00 p.m. on Landmark Drive and Lakemont Drive.

“I think what made it that much more scary was just his demeanor when he was showing the video,” Mallory Haas said.

Channel 2 Action News has reported on a number of cases that involve public indecency and indecent exposure over the past year in Cobb County and other parts of metro Atlanta.

Newell spoke with Attorney Jessica Cino, who isn’t tied to any of the cases but has handled similar cases in the past.

TRENDING STORIES:

Cino is a partner at Krevolin & Horst Law Firm.

“I think that victims of these types of crimes are more willing to report it than they were in the past and not feel like if they went they are not going to be taken seriously,” Cino said.

Cino said without knowing someone’s full background and psychological state, it’s difficult to pinpoint the reason behind their behavior.

“For some individuals, you will see earlier on in their history... indecent exposure can be an indicator later on of more aggressive or escalation of certain crimes, and in some cases that’s not true at all,” Cino said. “Every individual is different in how their psychological makeup and their approach to this.”

It is unclear if the two cases are connected, but police said the Corolla Barnes saw belongs to a registered sex offender who has two separate indecent exposure cases in the past.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Michele Newell

Michele Newell, WSB-TV Cobb County Bureau Chief

Michele Newell is a three-time Emmy award-winning reporter. She joined the WSB-TV team as a general assignment reporter in November 2021. She was promoted to Cobb County Bureau Chief five months later

0