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Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Man charged with sexual battery after allegedly assaulting woman trying to charge her phone in his Chattanooga motel room

Gerald Smith
Gerald Smith Gerald Smith
photo Gerald Smith

A man has been arrested after allegedly forcing himself on a woman while she was trying to charge her phone.

Chattanooga police were called to a Brainerd-area extended stay motel on Tuesday where the woman had been staying, according to Hamilton County Court records. She told police she’d been standing by her car after arguing with her son and boyfriend when 28-year-old Gerald Smith walked up to her and offered her a drink.

She responded by asking if she could charge her phone in his motel room because she was locked out of hers, the woman told police.

She was sitting in Smith’s room charging her phone when he halfway undressed himself, picked her up, put her on his bed and started kissing her neck and chest, court records show.

The woman told police she started crying and begging Smith to stop, but he was holding her arms down.