The girl, who cannot be named, was enjoying a meal with her father and other family members at Sonny’s BBQ in Brunswick, Georgia.
When she went to the women’s restroom alone, she was met with a terrifying experience.
A man had followed her into the bathroom, grabbed her by the throat and put his hand over her mouth to silence her, police said.
The girl screamed, fought off her attacker and ran from the bathroom.
When staff heard the girl’s screams they ran to assist.
Restaurant locked down
“As a mom, when I heard that scream, a reality check came over me and probably along with my whole entire staff,” said Sonny’s employee Amber, according to the Western Journal.
Staff then grabbed the man and locked down the restaurant until police arrived.
Officers arrested John Schuler, 40, and charged him with aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and enticing a child for indecent purposes.
“Each and every grisly discovery of unspeakable acts committed against the most vulnerable among us, fills us with outrage, and disbelief,” the victim’s mother wrote on Facebook. “I am still in disbelief that this happened to my child. But it can.
“I hate to even think about it, but there is no telling what he would have done to (my daughter) had she frozen in fear,” the mother continued.
She urged every parent to teach their children to fight, scream and do whatever it takes to get away if they find themselves in a similar situation.
‘This was a God moment’
The girl’s mother said the sheriff called to commend her daughter and called her a hero, saying “there is no telling how many children’s lives her bravery saved,” according to News 4 GA.
Amber and her co-worker, Jordan, believe God placed each person in the restaurant that day in order that a criminal might be brought to justice.
“This was a God moment,” Amber said, according to First Coast News. “God put me in the right place at the right time, put Jordan in the right place the right time, put my staff in the right place.”
“That’s what I believe. God saved this girl; we were just people in the right place.”
Such a frightening situation that we should all be aware of when our child asks to go to the bathroom in a public place. The message from this story is always go with them.
I hope justice is served and this man is stopped from putting another child through such an ordeal.
Please share to warn others.