Michael Gadomski boxed in two girls at a restroom in The Seventh Day Adventist Church in Hudson, Massachusetts, on March 2, 2024, police said. (Mug shot: Hudson, Massachusetts, Police Department)
A Massachusetts man is accused of boxing in two young girls at a church restroom until one of them managed to elbow him and escape.
A witness spotted Michael Gadomski, 61, follow a girl out of the bathroom and saying, “Boy, she’s quick,” according to documents obtained by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
“He said they were laughing and playing, so he decided to join them by chasing them into the bathroom,” cops wrote. “He did not seem to think his actions were unwanted and said he just wanted to play with them.”
Officers in the city of Hudson, which is about 40 miles west of Boston, said they responded to The Seventh Day Adventist Church on Marlboro Street on Saturday.
Gadomski had allegedly followed two girls into the restroom and stopped them from leaving, they said.
The girls, sisters aged 8 and 11, huddled between the wall and sink as Gadomski allegedly asked, “Are you afraid of me?” and “Are you trying to run away from me?” according to police in the WCVB report. The defendant allegedly laughed while attempted to hug them “like an animal.”
“We were both smushed up next to a corner sink while he was trying to physically hug us,” the elder sister told WCVB reporter John Atwater.
The younger sister said she managed to elbow him.
The girls reportedly found some adults and told them what happened. Cops were called. The girls did not get hurt, and Gadomski was arrested without incident.
The defendant allegedly told officers he did nothing wrong.
“Police determined that Gadomski has engaged in similar unwanted activity involving the same juveniles in the past,” officers said.
In one of those incidents, Gadomski apparently tried to sit with them in a kids-only area during a children’s sermon, and in another incident, he sat next to them when there were many other pews to sit in the church.
Gadomski is charged with kidnapping of a child, assault, and disorderly conduct.
“I applaud these individuals for reporting this incident and for their bravery during this process,” Hudson Police Chief Rick DiPersio said. “I would also like to commend our officers for their professionalism in helping to keep our community safe.”
