Milton man accused of 2 assaults

A Milton man was arrested after both a woman and a teenage girl reported to law enforcement that he had forcibly touched and kissed them in two separate incidents.

Joseph Lamar Callahan, 32, was arrested Sunday and charged with simple assault, battery and lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim over the age of 12 and under the age of 16.

He was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond, and county records indicated that he remained in custody as of Wednesday.

According to his arrest report, a woman and an underage girl both told Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies that Callahan had forced himself on them in two separate instances.

Both the woman and the girl claimed that Callahan had forcibly touched and kissed them. The report indicated Callahan knew both of the females.

The highly redacted report states one of the incidents occurred Feb. 7 but it does not indicate whether the woman or the teenage girl was the victim in that case.

In that incident, one of the victims told authorities that Callahan entered her residence, grabbed her by the throat, demanded sexual acts and asked her “if she liked him kissing on her and touching her,” the report stated. She told Callahan she did not like him touching her, but he allegedly continued to touch and kiss her.

The second victim provided details about a separate incident that occurred around the same time, claiming that Callahan touched her genitals without consent.

Both the woman and the teenager said Callahan had threatened to hurt them if they ever told anyone about what he had done, the report stated.

The allegations were both reported to the SRSO in February, and a warrant was issued for Callahan’s arrest.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosas Press Gazette: Milton man accused of 2 assaults