The verdict is in for the man accused of attacking a woman in the bathroom of a Clairemont Big Lots store last February.
Gregory Phillip Schwartz, 41, was found guilty Thursday of felony false imprisonment, misdemeanor assault and shoplifting. He was acquitted of assault with intent to commit rape and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, however.
Schwartz was accused in the February attack on a woman in the toilet stall of a Big Lots store in the Clairemont Town Square. She alleged in court that Schwartz had peered over the divider at her before climbing under and attempting to sexually assault her.
He was charged with shoplifting for the pink Barbie costume he was sporting during the alleged attack.
Schwartz’s defense team argued at the beginning of the trial that he suffered from drug-induced “transvestic fetishism” and becomes more sexual and is aroused by cross-dressing while under the influence of meth.
Testimony heard in the close of the trial from both Schwartz and a psychiatrist specializing in addiction supplemented the defenses claims.
Schwartz, who admitted to being high on meth and drunk at the time, denied the accusations, claiming he remembers very little from that day, be he did not assault the victim, according to court testimony.
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A jury found Schwartz not guilty on the rape and felony assault charges Thursday. He will be sentenced for the false imprisonment, misdemeanor assault and shoplifting charges on Feb. 20.
