Florida TV Anchor Was Arrested After Attacking a Pregnant Woman

A news anchor was arrested and charged for attacking a pregnant woman in Tampa Florida. He allegedly became upset when the woman refused his advances.

WFLA Channel 8's morning anchor was arrested for an incident that took place on Sunday, March 24. He was formally charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Marco Villareal was released on $7,500 bail from the Hillsborough County Jail on Monday night.

Villareal allegedly attempted to kiss a six-month pregnant woman in his home. She denied the approach, which made Villareal angry. The exact relationship between the two remains undisclosed.

As the woman was walking away, Villareal, 37, pushed the woman against a wall. She and two children who were present in the house later gave statements to the police.

After calling him to return via cellphone, police officers arrested Villareal from his Cory Lake Isles home around 7:42 pm. They found no signs of a struggle nor any signs of injury on either party.

The victim claimed that she was fine, though "visibly upset," and refused treatment.

On their website, WFLA stated:

"WFLA morning anchor Marco Villarreal has been arrested and charged with aggravated battery. Villarreal will not be returning to our newscast until an investigation of the charges has concluded."

The news station also said they have no further comments on the matter. Villarreal reportedly worked at the station for just over two years. Prior to that, he was employed with WRCB-TV and WTXL-TV of Chattanooga Tennessee and Tallahassee respectively.

Another pregnant woman was attacked last year, this time at seven months. A CCTV video recorded footage of the horrific incident which took place in Ruimsig, west of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The woman, Bianca Fourie, entered a store at the Featherbrooke Village mall. Soon after, Romeo Makhubela started shouting. He then approached Fourie and hit her with the back of his hand several times.

Many who witnessed the scene came rushing to check on Fourie, with Makhubela pretending to be one of the concerned citizens. Fourie tried to record his face but he snatched her phone away.

The victim later revealed that the incident arose due to a parking dispute. She intended to press charges against the assaulter. Thankfully, the baby was said to have been fine soon after the assault.