Sex crimes in hair salon led to man’s arrest, SC cops say. Here’s what he did

A man is in jail after committing sex crimes inside a South Carolina hair salon over the weekend, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

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Nicholas Lopez, 32, was charged with indecent exposure and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, the sheriff’s department said Monday in a news release.

The incident happened Saturday night at the Hair Depot salon on Decker Boulevard, according to the release. That’s in Columbia, near Richland Northeast High School.

At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a call about a suspicious person engaging in lewd activity inside the store, the sheriff’s department said.

Deputies learned that a man, later identified as Lopez, entered the business and started a conversation with a woman before exposing himself and rubbing his genitals on her, according to the release.

The victim alerted store employees and law enforcement was called, but Lopez had left the business before the deputies arrived, the sheriff’s department said.

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Lopez was located a short time later in the 7200 block of Hunt Club Road, less than a mile from the salon, according to the release.

He was positively identified through surveillance footage of the incident and arrested, the sheriff’s department said. Lopez was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center where he also was charged with second-degree assault & battery, jail records show.

His bond was set at $2,500 on the combined charges, and Lopez remains locked up, according to jail records.