Man allegedly reaches up pedestrian's dress in downtown Kinston

Kinston authorities arrested a man this weekend for allegedly harassing a pedestrian downtown by putting his hand inside her dress.

A patrolman with the Kinston Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Division took 44-year-old Anthony Deon Farris, of 811 E. Highland Ave., into custody Friday at 3:52 p.m., two minutes after a woman said he molested her, said Woody Spencer, a spokesman with the KDPS.

The victim, a complete stranger to Farris, said the man approached her as she passing through the 100 block of North Queen Street — four blocks from the KDPS’ headquarters on King Street — assaulted her and then reached under and up her dress.

The officer transported Farris, under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the incident, to the Lenoir County jail, where he was given a $1,000 secured bond for misdemeanor charges of assault on a female and sexual battery.

Spencer said he did not know what Farris may have consumed prior to the incident or how he may have assaulted the victim before he allegedly molested her.

Farris has a court date set for Oct. 18. Farris has a history of crime dating back to 1990 for an array of misdemeanor charges, including assault on a female, assault on a policeman, indecent exposure, possession of stolen goods and trespassing, and felony charges of breaking and entering and larceny, according to the N.C. Department of Correction’s website.

His last conviction came in October 2003 for a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats. He served two months of a maximum sentence of four months behind bars in the Neuse Correctional Institution for the offense, the website stated.

Wesley Brown can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wbrown@freedomenc.com.