In a disturbing incident at a Pennsylvania mall, a New Jersey resident has been taken into custody on charges of indecent assault. The accused, 36-year-old Shivakrishna Bera, allegedly assaulted a woman playing the role of the Easter Bunny during a public event.
The alleged incident unfolded at South Hills Village Mall, situated within the suburbs of Pittsburgh. According to reports from local authorities, Bera purportedly approached the woman, who was engaged in taking photographs with families and children while donning her festive costume, last Monday afternoon around 3:20 p.m.
A criminal complaint, as reported by CBS Pittsburgh, details that Bera initiated the interaction by inquiring whether the person inside the costume was a male or female. What began with a seemingly innocuous question quickly escalated into an inappropriate and unwanted physical assault, as the suspect allegedly groped the woman’s chest and body.
Following the reported incident, Upper St. Clair Township police located Bera in a nearby AMC Theater. He was discovered asleep in the top row of one of the theater’s auditoriums, leading to his subsequent arrest.
Then, he groped her chest and body, according to Upper St. Clair Township police.
Bera was tracked down to the AMC Theater next to the mall, where he was sleeping in the top row of one of the auditoriums.
After being read his Miranda rights, he asked law enforcement, ‘It’s a doll, right?’
When he was told the rabbit was in fact a person, Bera responded, ‘By mistake, my hand touched her, if it’s a lady.’
Shivakrishna Bera, 36, was accused of sexually assaulting the female worker dressed as the Easter Bunny at the South Hills Village Mall
Surveillance video given to police by mall security showed Bera sexually assaulting the person dressed as the holiday rabbit
Bera is not from Pennsylvania and was identified through a New Jersey driver’s license found on him.
While being taken into custody, Bera seemed to suggest that he did not know much about the incident.
‘Is it on the close to Five Below, the merchandise thing, the bunny?’ Bera was said to have asked, according to the criminal complaint.
He was subsequently taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where he was held on a $10,000 bond.
Bera told police officers that he had just been trying to take a photo with the Easter Bunny.
However, he then allegedly started making inappropriate remarks about the bunny’s chest.
Mall security showed police the surveillance video that was pointed directly at the Easter Bunny display, WPXI reported.
In the footage, police said Bera could be seen sexually assaulting the person inside the rabbit costume.
Bera allegedly told law enforcement that he had only been trying to take a photo with the Easter Bunny
However, he then started making inappropriate comments about the worker’s breasts, according to police
The Easter Bunny’s assistant witnessed the alleged assault and told police her version of events.
Bera said to investigators that he was trying to ‘test if it’s real or fake,’ referring to the victim’s breasts, according to News12.
While in the car, Bera also seemed to address his arrest while sleeping in the cinema.
He said ‘if I did not watch a movie here I wouldn’t have been caught,’ according to police.
Locals reacted to the news of the sexual assault at the mall with indignation.
‘Kids shop at the mall all the time, kids go to see the Easter Bunny all the time,’ Logan Wells, of South Hills, told WPXI. ‘That’s not something that should be happening at this mall.’
Another mall-goer, Jenn Herrig, said that she put herself in the worker’s shoes and did not know if she would return to work after suffering that.
‘I feel awful that she has had to go through this,’ Herrig told the outlet. ‘It’s really traumatizing.’
The South Hills Village Mall is still advertising its Easter Bunny exhibit and urging families to book their photos ‘early before he hops away’
Bera was charged with indecent assault and taken to the Allegheny County Jail (pictured), where he was held on a $10,000 bond
Bera was also charged with cyber harassment of a child in connection with the incident reported last Monday, according to court records viewed by the Daily Mail.
Further details about that charge were unknown. He had been unable to post bail and is due back in court on April 2 for a preliminary hearing.
Court records added that Bera had not yet requested a public defender.
Meanwhile, the mall has continued operating its Easter Bunny exhibit despite the alleged sexual assault.
‘The Bunny can’t wait to see your smiling faces,’ the mall posted on social media on March 26, three days after the incident. ‘Book your photos early before he hops away!’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Upper St. Clair Township police and the Simon Property Group, which owns the South Hills Village Mall, for comment.
