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Tennessee Dollar General Manager Allegedly Raped Shoplifters

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 04:49 PST, Jan 25, 2016

An assistant manager of a Tennessee Dollar General store is accused of committing sex crimes against alleged shoplifters, and now he’s been charged with at least two counts of rape. HLN News reports that 38-year-old Robert Lindlau allegedly raped women whom he accused of shoplifting from the store he managed.

The New York Daily News reports that two alleged victims — aged 44- and 32-years-old — were supposedly caught shoplifting at the Clarksville store in March of last year. The women allege that Lindlau led them back to a room in the back of the store to contain them until police were to arrive. He allegedly told the women that the police “would be there in about an hour,” before locking the door, staying in the room with the women. This is when their detainment turned into an alleged sexual assault.

Both women say that the Dollar General assistant manager made them undress before he fondled them sexually. After he was done fondling them, Lindlau reportedly forced both of them to perform oral sex on him. The police in Clarksville say that the women were “in fear for their safety,” and they “felt they had no choice but to comply” with the Dollar General manager’s demands. The women claimed that Lindlau told them to get dressed and leave the store after he was done sexually assaulting them. He even reportedly let them leave the store with some of the items they had allegedly tried to shoplift.

The Tennessee man was arrested on Tuesday after an investigation that took several months. He has since been indicted on two counts of rape. Meanwhile, authorities in Clarksville, Tennessee, are looking for any more potential victims. If you or anybody you know has experienced any similar type of situation with Robert Lidnlau, you are encouraged to call the Clarksville Police, or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 931-645-TIPS (8477).

This isn’t the first time retail worker has been accused of using his or her position to allegedly victimize others. In December of last year, an employee at a pizza shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, allegedly assaulted a customer because she complained about a slice of pizza. Mittermann Singh allegedly used a lead pipe to strike the victim in the head at least three times, because she complained about her pizza being stale.

Also last year, a Texas woman was allegedly assaulted by a CVS store employee after she was supposedly mistaken for a shoplifter. The 24-year-old woman claimed that the employee picked her up and threw her into a room. The woman had gone to the store to return a pack of batteries, without a receipt, but the store wouldn’t let her return them. She claimed that when she tried to leave, with her batteries, she was stopped and forcefully detained by the man, who wouldn’t reveal that he was a loss prevention officer for several minutes into the incident.

In this latest incident in Tennessee, no statements have been released from Dollar General spokespeople. Media reports also declare that calls to the accused rapist’s attorney have not been returned. In the meantime, Lindlau has been released from jail, and is awaiting his trial. In the state of Tennessee, a conviction on two counts of rape could garner prison time. It could also land Lindlau on the state’s sex offender registry.

[Photo by Clarksville Police]

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