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The waitress who slammed a customer to the floor after he groped her backside has confessed she didn’t know she could do what she did.
Emelia Holden, 21, took hold of Ryan Cherwinski’s arm and hurled him to the ground when he grabbed her rear at Vinnie Van Go-Go’s in Savannah, Georgia, US.
Father-of two, Cherwinksi, 31, has been in a relationship for 11 years and was with his partner, Erica Martin, at the restaurant when he groped their server and was arrested.
Holden said she had first thought it was a friend who was grabbing her as a joke.
Emelia took hold of Cherwinski’s arm and hurled him to the ground immediately after he grabbed her buttocks.
Holden told People: “His hand went further than it should have so I was thinking, there’s no way a stranger just did that.
“I just did it. I didn’t even know I could do that. I don’t care who you are. You have no right to disrespect me.”
The footage shows Cherwinski walking past the waitress and touching her on the backside
A furious Holden reacts by grabbing his arm and hurling him to the floor of the restaurant where the confrontation took place
After reviewing the surveillance footage taken inside the restaurant, police arrested Cherwinski and handed him over to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
He is now facing criminal charges.
Savannah Police Department have confirmed the video of the incident circulating online is the same one officers reviewed before arresting Cherwinski.
Meanwhile, Holden has directed her new found fame into raising money for cat shelters, attracting $7,250 of her $5,000 goal less than 24 hours after launching a GoFundMe page.
She wrote: “Recently a video of me went viral and I’ve been getting a lot of attention for it. I’d like to take this opportunity to give back to something that means a great deal to me, CATS!”
Holden also appeared on Inside Edition to tell her story on Thursday.
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