225-pound security guard is charged with the assault of an 11-year-old girl who was bodyslammed and pummeled after allegedly shoplifting at Boston Primark store
A Boston security guard has been indicted for allegedly assaulting an 11-year-old girl accused of shoplifting at a Primark store in the city in June.
The burly security officer threw the girl to the ground before pummeling her.
The girl allegedly admitted to stealing clothing from the store to the value of around $175.
Mohammad Khan, 36, security officer at a Primark store in Boston was indicted Tuesday on charges that he threw an 11-year-old girl on the ground and beat her
Leeajah Williams, 11, was accused of shoplifting after allegedly stealing $175 worth of items
Mohammad Khan, 36, who is 6ft 1in and weighs 225lbs was involved in a struggle with the girl and is alleged to have grabbed her by the head and neck before throwing her to the ground.
Khan is then alleged to have punched the child in the face while straddling her according to the Boston Globe.
Khan allegedly continued to struggle with the youngster even after Boston police had separated the pair.
Sherrice Williams said her daughter, Leeajah, ended up bruised and swollen after the encounter.
Khan was charged with assault and battery on a child under 14 and one count of civil rights violations after he allegedly grabbed the youngster by her head and neck
Khan allegedly grabbed the girl, pulled her back into the store by her head and neck and threw to the ground before punching her in the face
'She stole a pack of socks, was walking out the door and a guy grabbed her and threw her against the wall - the security guard,' Williams said to WCVB.
'She was screaming, "Get off of me!" She didn't know who he was because he wasn't dressed in any type of security clothing, so she thought he was just a random man grabbing her.'
The alleged attack happened despite clear orders from Securitas Services USA, the company who employed Khan, to not touch customers, including those suspected of shoplifting.
State law prohibits authorities from charging the girl with shoplifting because of her age, prosecutors explained.
The assault allegedly continued even after Boston police officers intervened
The incident happened at the Primark store at Downtown Crossing in Boston in June
The Globe reports how Khan had already been reprimanded on at least four previous occasions for using more force than was allowed by Securitas.
During this specific incident, Kahn is alleged to have grabbed the girl, pulling her back inside the store before pushing her into a corner where she was out of the view of a security camera, the statement explained.
'The Boston Police were exemplary in de-escalating the situation when they arrived, and the other Securitas employees in the store behaved appropriately during the encounter,' Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in the statement.
'Being a Special Police Officer allows someone the power of arrest, but with that power comes great responsibility. I applaud the vast majority of Boston Police officers and SPOs who behave professionally and with restraint.'
Khan and the Securitas first have each been charged with one count each assault and battery on a child under 14 and civil rights violations.
Khan is scheduled to be arraigned December 17 in Suffolk Superior Court.
