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8-year-old girl assaulted in bathroom of Ga. rest stop on way to Braves game, deputies say

BIBB COUNTY, Ga. — A pitstop on the way to a Braves game turned into a terrifying incident for an 8-year-old Georgia girl and her family, WMAZ reported.

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According to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Brett and Hayley Hester were traveling from Valdosta to Atlanta when they stopped at a rest stop on I-475.

Hayley Hester said she and her daughter had gone into the bathroom, where they saw twin girls, one of whom was using a tablet on the bathroom counter.

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Hester told deputies she didn’t think anything of it. While Hester was using the bathroom, the two girls approached her daughter and covered her mouth with their hands and tried to drag her out of the bathroom by her ponytail, deputies said.

They eventually let the child go and ran off into the woods.

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Brett Hester said they called 911 because they thought the twins were attempting to kidnap their daughter.

When deputies arrived, they found the twins, one of whom was hiding under a tractor-trailer. Both girls were taken into custody and put in the back of the patrol car.

Deputies made contact with the twins’ mother, who said the family is homeless and that the twins have been having behavioral problems.

The twins, who were not identified, were already facing charges from a shoplifting incident at a Walmart.

They were charged with simple battery and turned over to their mother. They are not being identified because they are juveniles.

The child was checked out by EMS for a rapid heart rate and released.