Armed security guard rapes 15-year-old in empty movie theater, Florida cops say

A security guard lured a 15-year-old into an empty movie theater and sexually assaulted her behind the curtain after she was left without a ride home, Florida authorities said.

Augusta Williams, 34, was convicted of lewd or lascivious battery on a child aged 12-16 and has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit announced June 23.

McClatchy News reached out to Williams’ defense attorneys for comment on the case June 23 but did not immediately receive a response. Regal Cinemas and his former employer, Knights Security of Gainesville, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Williams and the two companies are named in a civil lawsuit filed by South Florida law firm Anidjar & Levine on behalf of the girl’s family.

“When a business hires someone and gives them a badge and a uniform, they are telling the public: ‘You can trust this person,’” said Glen Levine, partner at Anidjar & Levine. “Regal made that promise — and broke it.”

The 15-year-old girl went to the movies with a group on Jan. 14, 2023, but she was stranded without a ride when her friend’s grandfather wouldn’t take her home with her other friends, according to the Ocala Police Department.

She couldn’t reach her mom, but Williams, an armed security guard hired to work at the theater, offered to watch over her until someone could come get her, police said.

Williams took her to an empty theater and led her to the front near the screen as a movie was playing, according to police. The girl told officers she thought Williams was leading her out another exit to give her a ride, when he pulled her behind the curtain and sexually assaulted her, investigators said.

Afterward, he’s accused of threatening her.

“Williams told her that if she said anything he would punch her in the face and tapped on his gun as he told her again not to say anything, asking if she understood,” officers wrote in the arrest affidavit.

The teen’s mom was having trouble with her phone and was worried that her daughter hadn’t come home, so she drove to the movie theater and found her, police said.

The girl told her mom what happened the next day, according to officers.

When police asked Williams what happened, he reportedly told them he was trying to help the girl look for her phone. But the story didn’t add up because he took her to a different theater than the one where she had watched her movie, according to officers.

Investigators said they took an ultraviolet light behind the curtain of the theater where the incident occurred and found possible evidence, and the girl underwent a medical exam.

“Movie theaters are supposed to be a safe and welcoming environment — especially for young people,” said Marc Anidjar, co-founder of Anidjar & Levine. “This child was assaulted in a place that should have protected her. Even worse, it was done by someone wearing a uniform, someone she had every reason to trust.”

Williams also pleaded no contest to charges of false impersonation of a law enforcement officer and engaging in an activity where a license was required, and a judge adjudicated him guilty, according to Marion County records.

Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.

This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM.