CONWAY, Ark. — A warrant has been issued for a man accused of harassing women in Faulkner County.
Three women have filed reports about Brian Reams harassing them while shopping in Conway.
Police said the incidents occurred between September 2020 and June 2021.
The different incidents happened at the Walmart on Skyline and the Kroger on Salem Road.
“They were all very frightened and very uncomfortable by these incidents that occurred,” Conway Police Department Information Officer, Lacey Kanipe said.
According to police reports, he would follow the woman around the store and make inappropriate comments to them.
In one report, a woman said Reams, who has neither of his arms asked if he could massage her feet.
“These scenarios are all very similar,” Kanipe said.
No matter how small it may seem, since these women reported this, Conway City Attorney Charles Finkenbinder was able to step in and help.
“The fact that we were able to obtain justice, and protect that rights is because these women were strong enough to come forward,” Finkenbinder said.
He said some people don’t speak out about cases like this and sometimes they found out through social media.
“They may report it on social media, and they typically do so not for their own benefit or get any attention but to warn other people,” Finkenbinder said. “And that was really how we became aware of a lot of these incidents.”
Finkenbinder said a sense of safety is what’s being taken away and it’s not okay.
“The message that we’re trying to send out is that right is sacred, the right to be safe,” Finkenbinder said. “If someone steals another person’s sense of safety and security that can’t easily be restored, I can’t easily get that back.”
Both Finkenbinder and Conway Police hope this will encourage others to report things, otherwise, local officials who can help may never know about it.
“We want people to feel safe in public and we want them to understand their story matters. People do have the right to go out in public without being harassed,” Kanipe said.
If anyone has any information or may have been a victim of something similar contact police, no matter how small it may seem.
