A second alleged victim of a man at the center of a sexual assault case in Atlanta is lawyering up.
Local station 11ALive reports that TaTanisha Snead has hired attorney Gerald Griggs to represent her in a possible lawsuit against 34-year-old Dominique Williams, who’s accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside Opera nightclub late last month. Snead claims Williams also sexually assaulted her while they were on a date in September 2018.
Dominique Williams, 34, turned himself in to police last month and was charged with aggravated sodomy for his role in a January incident in an Atlanta nightclub in which a woman apparently was sexually assaulted while streaming her attack on Facebook Live. (Image courtesy of WSB-TV)
Recalling the incident, Snead says she and Williams enjoyed a few drinks that evening but said she suddenly didn’t feel like herself.
“I felt woozy,” she told WSB-TV earlier this month. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive in the state that I was in.”
Atlanta police Detective Katie Riester testified earlier this month that Snead agreed to go to Williams’ Fulton County home after he offered to let her wait in his living room until she felt better. That’s when Snead said she blacked out and woke up in Williams’ bed to the sound of him removing a condom.
She also told police there was a tear in the crotch area of her one-piece outfit, along with stains on her clothing allegedly made by Williams.
“Ms. Snead never consented to a sexual contact and is seeking punishment for Mr. Williams to the fullest extent of the law,” read a statement on behalf of Griggs.
The Army veteran and father of two is already facing aggravated sodomy charges in the alleged Jan. 19 attack against Jasmine Eiland at Opera. Eiland, who was at the club celebrating a birthday, streamed the alleged assault on Facebook Live.
Footage from the incident showed Eiland crying and begging for help as Williams allegedly assaulted her from behind. A Facebook user who witnessed the incident on live contacted authorities to report a Black woman being “groped on her chest” and possibly “raped” on the dance floor.
Eiland later told police someone had drugged her drink and violated her on the dance floor. The St. Louis woman has since filed a lawsuit against Opera nightclub, arguing there wasn’t adequate security the night of her alleged attack.
Williams was arrested after turning himself into the Fulton County Jail on Jan. 29, where he remains behind bars. After being denied bond during a Feb. 14 proceeding, a judge tacked on a new rape charge for the alleged 2018 assault involving Snead.
“The decision to come forward was not easy but it is not about her; it is about Ms. Eiland and the other women who have survived the brutal sexual attacks by the sexual predator, Mr. Williams,” Griggs said in a statement. “It takes courage, strength, and purpose to come forward. I applaud Ms. Snead’s bravery as my team, and I seek justice on her behalf.”
