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TownHall owner Bobby George charged with rape and attempted murder

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The owner of several restaurants in Columbus and Cleveland who was recently at the center of a controversy surrounding the Olympics has been charged in Cuyahoga County with attempted murder, kidnapping, rape and other crimes.

Robert “Bobby” T. George, 43, of Lakewood in northeast Ohio, was charged Friday in Cleveland Municipal Court with attempted murder, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of strangulation and one count each of rape and aggravated assault, court records show.

According to records, the crimes occurred between November 2023 and July of this year and were reported to police on August 9.

Cleveland Municipal Court records show George turned himself in and his bail was set at $200,000 during a hearing Tuesday morning.

Citing the arrest warrant, Cleveland television stations WOIO Channel 19 and WEWS News 5 reported that George is accused of strangling a woman, pinning her to the ground and slamming her head into the ground on Nov. 14, 2023. She suffered a concussion and other injuries and was treated by a nurse at George's office for post-concussion syndrome, according to reports.

The warrant also states that on another occasion, George chased the woman fleeing a home they shared, pointing a gun at the window of the car and forcing the woman to get out. When she got out, George held the gun to her stomach while leading her back inside, the warrant states.

In another incident, the woman claimed that George raped her when she came out of the shower.

During an altercation in June, George allegedly prevented the woman from leaving her home, threw her around and tried to strangle and suffocate her. When she hid in a closet and George found her, the woman prayed that she would not die, according to the warrant. George allegedly stuffed a towel down her throat and said, “Do you think God is going to help you?”

George's Columbus-area restaurants include TownHall and Mandrake Rooftop in the Short North and REBoL in Dublin.

Several of George's restaurants, including TownHall in the Short North, were embroiled in a controversy surrounding the Olympics in July. The restaurants announced they would not broadcast the Olympics on their televisions after the opening ceremony featured what the restaurant group called a parody of the Last Supper. Ceremony organizers said it was not actually depicting the Last Supper, but a celebration honoring the Greek god Dionysus.

The segment in question featured a scantily clad man painted blue appearing in the middle of a table surrounded by dancing drag queens. Some observers said the segment resembled Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting “The Last Supper.”

The depiction sparked strong reactions from Christian communities and conservatives, as it was allegedly an offensive parody of a religious event.

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@ShahidMeighan

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