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Joshua Sullins appears in court for CityPlace restaurant sexual assault allegation, bonds out

Posted at 5:49 PM, Oct 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-27 19:11:25-04

The 23-year-old Tennessee man accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious 27-year-old woman in a CityPlace restaurant's bathroom has bonded out of jail after a judge set bail at $100,000 Friday.

Police say Joshua Sullins admitted to touching the woman in the women's bathroom at Copper Blues Rock Pub and Kitchen at CityPlace in Downtown West Palm Beach, but employees of the restaurant said she was unconscious and he was sexually assaulting her. 

A judge told Sullins he is not to have any contact with the victim, witnesses, or any local bars or clubs. 

"I just think it wa a big mistake," said Jan Odom Campbell, Joshua's mother. 

In a phone interview from Tennessee, Campbell said she is in disbelief. 

'He's a very loving, you know great hearted..loves his family. I really, just, this is shocking," said Campbell. 

She says Sullins is self-employed and was spending some time in town on vacation and meeting with clients to help them grow their company. 

"It's definitely out of character for him and I think there's a lot more to the story," she said.

Five employees from Copper Blues say they witnessed the attack on the incoherent woman. Police say the woman told them she remembers going to Copper Blues with a friend, having an alcoholic drink and then using the restroom. She then left the restaurant and went to a friend's house nearby and had another alcoholic drink then returned to Copper Blues with her friend. She told officers she did not remember anything after that only being surrounded by officers telling her "something" happened. 

The woman told officers she did not know Sullins and would have not consented to having any sexual contact with him.

Sullins's mother said he was at the bar with his girlfriend. Police say when the employees of Copper Blues helped the woman in the bathroom Sullins ran. He reportedly ignored officer commands to stop running and police say he resisted arrest.