Atlanta police say three women were groped by the same man within a half hour as they walked through Midtown, and that officers eventually tracked him down hiding at the entrance to a parking garage. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Timothy Quarles, was arrested and charged with three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, the first woman reported that a man later identified as Quarles said hello to her and then grabbed her buttocks with his right hand near Peachtree Place NE and Cypress Street NE. As reported by wsbtv.com, a woman reported that a man groped her backside while she walked down the street. Police said the alleged sexual batteries occurred on October 16, and that all three incidents happened within a couple-block radius over about 30 minutes.
A second woman called 911 to report she had been grabbed near the same Peachtree Place and Cypress Street intersection, police said. A third victim called police less than 30 minutes after the first call, reporting that she had been grabbed in her buttocks near West Peachtree Street NE and 8th Street NE, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Victim Fights Back, Suspect Found Bleeding
That third victim did not just report the incident — she fought back, striking the perpetrator with her phone, police said. Officers later said the woman's phone may have caused a cut to the suspect. When officers found Quarles, he was observed bleeding above his left eyebrow, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Per the Atlanta Police Department, all three victims positively identified Quarles as the man who grabbed them. Officers tracked him down hiding at the entrance to a parking garage, and wsbtv.com reports that officers found the suspect hiding at the entrance to a parking garage before taking him into custody. Fulton County jail records showed Quarles was being held on a $7,500 bond, the station reported.
A Recent Release and a Tangled Court History
Court and jail records cited by 11Alive paint a picture of a man cycling through the justice system for years. A warrant described Quarles as being on probation after his release from Screven County jail on September 26, though records indicate his recent connection to Screven County is unclear. He was booked on a probation warrant in Fulton County in March and released a little more than a month later, in April.
Fulton County court records reviewed by the outlet show Quarles has a pending misdemeanor battery and simple battery case from August 2024, as well as a misdemeanor battery case from 2018 that closed without a clear disposition. The same records show he pleaded guilty to a theft case from 2017 and had a probation revocation hearing tied to that case in January 2022; he was released from jail that February. Records describe Quarles as residentially challenged.
As of publication, the Fulton County jail listing indicated Quarles had not been released. The broader court history has not been independently verified through primary filings beyond what county records show, and no attorney statement, plea, or case disposition tied to the current charges has been made public.
Separate Groping Allegations Reported in Cobb County
The Midtown case is not the only recent groping allegation to surface in the Atlanta area. In Cobb County, a 35-year-old man faced sexual battery charges after allegedly groping three women across multiple stores in Austell within about 10 minutes, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Criminal warrants cited by Atlanta News First describe the Austell man as accused of groping three women at three Cobb County stores and then resisting officers. The two cases are separate and involve different suspects and jurisdictions.
