Ryan Cherwinski is the man who can be seen on video grabbing the rear of 21-year-old waitress Emelia Holden.
The man who was slammed to the ground by a Savannah waitress after he groped the young woman is in a relationship – and has two young daughters.
Ryan Cherwinski, 31, is the man who can be seen on video grabbing the rear of 21-year-old waitress Emelia Holden as he walked by her at Vinnie Van Go-Go’s in Savannah, Georgia.
He is from Palm Bay, Florida, the father of infant twin girls, and in a long-term relationship with their mother.
Cherwinski and Erica Martin have been together for 11 years, and she was with him at the restaurant when he groped their server and was arrested.
Cherwinski is also now facing criminal charges after Holden responded to his grope by grabbing him by the arm, pulling him towards her and then slamming him to the ground.
Waitress tackles male customer after grabbing her backside
Witness: Cherwinski and girlfriend Erica Martin (above) have been together for 11 years, and she was with him at the restaurant when he groped their server and was arrested
Not happening: ‘I looked at him and I said, “You don’t touch me, motherf*****!”‘ said Holden (above)
One of the girl’s co-workers then called the Savannah Police Department who sent an officer to the restaurant.
After reviewing the surveillance footage taken inside the restaurant, police arrested him and handed him over to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on June 30.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Savannah Police Department who confirmed the video of the incident circulating online is the same one officers reviewed before arresting Ryan Cherwinski.
Holden (pictured) told Inside Edition she couldn’t repeat what she said to Cherwinski after tackling him, but noted: ‘I don’t care who you are. You have no right to disrespect me’
He spent two nights in jail before being released on July 2 on $2,500 bail.
Cherwinski has been charged with sexual battery.
In the footage, Holden is seen taking a table’s order and then walking over to an outdoor stock cart.
That is when Cherwinski can be seen walking behind the woman, reaching out and groping her rear.
Vinnie Van GoGo’s pizzeria in Savannah, Georgia, where the incident happened is pictured above
He then continues on, as if nothing will happen, but is then grabbed by the young woman who pulls him back and slams him against a wall.
Holden puts Cherwinski in a head lock, shoves him into a wall and then pushes him to the ground.
The young woman then appears to scold him. She later told Inside Edition she said ‘a lot of things I can’t repeat’, but did not appear to regret saying them.
‘I don’t care who you are,’ she said. ‘You have no right to disrespect me.’
Emelia Holden (left) is the waitress who threw Cherwinski to the ground
A man seen in the foreground of the video can be seen oblivious to what is happening behind him until the cart hits his chair as Holden tosses Cherwinski.
At that point, a man holding a drink casually makes his way over, seemingly bothered by what just happened at the restaurant.
This all happened just before 11pm and Ryan Cherwinski was booked early the next day.
Holden has decided to use her newfound fame for good, and raise some funds for cat shelters.
‘Recently a video of me went viral and I’ve been getting a lot of attention for it,’ wrote Holden on her Go Fund Me page.
‘I’d like to take this opportunity to give back to something that means a great deal to me, CATS!’
She had raised $2,500 of her $5,000 goal just a few hours after launching the page.
Holden spoke about the incident in an interview with People.
‘I looked at him and I said, “You don’t touch me, motherf*****!”‘ she said.
‘I didn’t even think, I just reacted. I don’t know how I reacted the way I did. I’ve never done that before.’
Me-Yowza: Holden has since started a campaign to raise money for cat shelters (above)
She also said she thought it was a friend who was grabbing her at first as a joke.
‘When I felt that happen, my first thought was that it was one of my friends… it was a really intimate touch,’ said Holden.
‘His hand went further than it should have so I was thinking, “There’s no way a stranger just did that.”‘
She also revealed that when the police arrived, Ryan Cherwinski insisted he had just been trying to move her out of the way so he could pass.
‘The guy claimed that he was just trying to push me out of the way and, “Oh, I barely touched you,”‘ said Holden.
‘Once the police saw the video, they immediately arrested him. There was no doubt that he did it.’
The restaurant where the incident happened is pictured above. Holden said she thought it was a friend who was grabbing her at first as a joke.
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