Man pleads guilty after slapping reporter’s rear on live TV

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – A Georgia man who was seen slapping a female reporter’s rear on live TV has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery.

Court records show Thomas Callaway was sentenced to a year on probation and fined $1,000 by a Savannah judge who accepted his plea Tuesday.

Callaway was charged in December after he swatted the rear end of WSAV-TV reporter Alex Bozarjian while she was reporting live on a Savannah road race.

Callaway was running in the race and was caught on camera striking a stunned Bozarjian as he passed her.

The video clip was viewed millions of times on social media.

Bozarjian said after the court hearing that she hopes “in the future, he will do better.”