Written by: E. George
Published March 19, 2024 @ 8:15 PM ET
Warning: The following story contains information regarding sexual violence against/sexual harassment of children.
CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – Kingsland Police officers arrested a man and charged him with child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16 years of age for inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl. On February 11, 2024, the victim, a Publix employee, reported to her mother that an adult male customer touched her buttocks and asked if she wanted his telephone number.
The teenager told him, “Ew. I’m 14; no,” and the man replied, “Age is just a number.”
The officers reviewed security footage and observed the man, who was accompanied by a woman and another man, staring at the victim multiple times. He then placed his right arm around her lower waist in a “side-hug motion” for approximately four seconds.
The victim’s mother said she wished to press charges, and a Publix manager said they would ban and criminally trespass the suspect if he is identified. The video revealed the three individuals exiting the premises in a dark-colored, late-model Nissan SUV bearing a Georgia license plate.
An employee printed the suspect’s transaction receipt, and officers attempted to obtain his information through the EBT card division of DFCS; however, they were unsuccessful. A photograph of the suspect and the female were posted inside the Publix, along with a case number.
On February 17, the suspect, Michael Joseph Harding, contacted authorities after noticing his photograph at the store and asked them why it was displayed. His daughter also called the police station and said she was upset about being featured in the flyer and wanted to know of what she was being accused.
The officer explained that the poster aimed to identify the man, not her. She said she thought the case was related to a theft accusation and “could prove” they did not steal anything.
Officers arrested Harding on February 20. This case is pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
[NARRATIVE #1 on February 12, 2024]
On the above date and time, I, Cpl Nordquist (Badge #526) was dispatched to the above location in reference to the mother of a juvenile employee of Publix wanting to report a customer who inappropriately touched her daughter. I responded with the flow of traffic, without the use of my emergency equipment in my clearly marked patrol unit (#2439).
Upon my arrival, I made contact with the juvenile’s mother, identified as Mrs. [WITNESS #1]. [WITNESS #1] advised that yesterday, at approximately 1349 hours, her 14 y/o daughter was inappropriately touched and spoken to by a customer. [WITNESS #1]’ daughter will be referred to as ([VICTIM #1]) for the remainder of this report.
Ofc Gilder and I went to review camera footage of the incident with a Publix store manager. The footage shows [VICTIM #1] standing near the bagging area of her checkstand at approximately 1349 hours. A white female customer with short brown hair, wearing gray shorts, a gray t-shirt, and sunglasses comes into view at the next checkstand over. Standing with her is another white male with a beard, wearing a blue long sleeve shirt, blue track pants with a red stripe, and a black hat.
While the cashier is scanning their items, a mostly bald white male who appeared to be in his 60’s came into view. The male in the video is wearing a blue shirt and gray shorts. As the male gets closer to [VICTIM #1], he notices her and stares at her multiple times. The unidentified male pays for the purchase, and begins to leave with the unidentified female. As the male is leaving, [VICTIM #1] begins to walk in the same direction towards the front door. The male is seen in the video, putting his right arm around [VICTIM #1]’s lower waist area, in a “side-hug” motion for approximately 3-5 seconds. He is seen speaking to [VICTIM #1], then continues out the door.
[VICTIM #1] told her mother that the conversation between her and the unidentified male was:
Male: “Do you want my number?”
[VICTIM #1]: “Ew I’m 14. No.”
Male: “Age is just a number.”
[VICTIM #1] also stated to Mrs. [WITNESS #1] that the male touched her butt during the encounter with his hand. From the camera angle I viewed while at Publix, this is not clearly visible, but may be visible from another angle or from eye witnesses. At the time of the call, no witnesses were on scene to make a statement.
I viewed camera footage of the male leaving the premises with the other male and the female. All 3 subjects left in a dark colored (possibly purple), late model Nissan SUV with stickers on the rear lift gate. The tag was not readable in the camera footage, but appeared to be a GA Plate.
Mrs. [WITNESS #1] advised that she does want to press charges against the male if we are able to identify him. The store manager at Publix stated the male will be banned if he comes back, and that he would like him criminally trespassed as well.
The transaction the male paid for was printed and will be attached to this report. The purchase was paid for with both an EBT card and debit card. I placed several phone calls to the DFCS division that is in charge of EBT cards in an attempt to identify the male with the reference number, trace number, or last four of the card number that is printed on the receipt, and was unsuccessful. I also filled out an online contact form and am waiting on their response.
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE #2 on February 17, 2024]
On February 17, 2024 at approximately 2:40 P.M., I received a call from dispatch in reference to a requested phone call. Upon calling the number dispatch provided I reached a Mr. Michael Harding. Mr. Harding stated he saw a photograph of him and his daughter at Publix in Kingsland GA, 31548 and it had a case number in reference to it. He was attempting to get more information in reference to why his photograph was being put out there.
Mr. Harding confirmed that the photograph was of him and provided me his license number. I advised Mr. Harding that he should call into the Kingsland Police Department the following morning during normal business hours Mon-Fri 9-5 and request to speak to an investigator in reference to his case number. I advised him that they would be able to provide more information on how he needed to proceed at that time but I didn’t currently need him to come in at this time.
After looking at the case details I identified Mr. Harding and added him to the supplement. I did not disclose any information in regards to the case or the investigation and had initially thought it was in reference to theft prior to finding the case report.
[End of Narrative]
[NARRATIVE #3 on February 17, 2024]
On the above date and time, I received a call from dispatch in reference to a phone call request. Upon calling the phone number provided by dispatch, I made contact with a woman who was requesting a phone call regarding seeing herself in a picture that Kingsland Police Department posted on Facebook.
The woman identified herself as Mrs. [REDACTED], and stated she was Michael Harding’s daughter. [REDACTED] expressed that she was upset that she was in the photo and wanted to know what she was being accused of. I did not disclose any case details to [REDACTED] since the case has already been turned over to investigations, but stated that I was familiar with the post and that it’s purpose was to identify the male in the photo, not her. [REDACTED] stated she thought the case was related to a theft accusation, and that she could prove her and Harding did not steal anything from Publix.
I told [REDACTED] that she should call the office M-F 8-5 with any further questions and ask to speak to an investigator.
[End of Narrative]