Suspect freed days earlier now charged in Buckhead Target assault

Suspect freed days earlier now charged in Target assault

Atlanta police arrested 28-year-old Torrin Mott in two Buckhead assaults. The incidents happened Sept. 2 and Sept. 3, just days after he was released from jail on probation. Mott is facing 19 charges in the Buckhead cases.

ATLANTA - A man with a long criminal history has been arrested in connection with two sexual assaults reported in Buckhead last week, including an attempted rape outside a Target store on Peachtree Road.

What we know:

Atlanta police said 28-year-old Torrin Mott was arrested Sept. 4 and booked into the Fulton County Jail. Investigators allege he attacked a 28-year-old woman outside the Target on Sept. 3, just minutes before the store opened. Surveillance footage captured the assault, which police said ended only after a good Samaritan intervened and pulled the suspect off the victim.

Torrin Mott. Photo courtesy of Atlanta Police Department

According to the victim, she noticed Mott before the attack and thought to herself, "I hope he doesn’t try anything." Moments later, she told investigators, he charged at her, tackled her, and attempted to perform oral sex while dragging her toward a stairwell. The victim fought back and screamed until a passerby stepped in to stop the assault. Police are now asking for the public’s help identifying that man, so his actions can be recognized. He was described as wearing a black hoodie, black hat and Nike sneakers.

Court records show the Target incident occurred less than a week after Mott was released from jail on probation. He had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault stemming from a 2023 attack on a woman at the Lenox MARTA station. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but nine of those years were suspended to probation after the first year was credited as time served.

Police said Mott is also accused of chasing another woman with a belt at the Lenox MARTA station on the same day as the Target incident. In total, jail records show Mott has been booked into the Fulton County Jail more than a dozen times since 2014.

What's next:

Mott is facing 19 charges in the Buckhead cases, including felony attempted rape, sexual battery and aggravated assault. Police emphasized that he remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

What's next:

Police are now looking for the good Samaritan so that he can be recognized for what he did to help the woman. The man was described as wearing a black hoodie, a black hat and Nike sneakers.