Real estate brokers in the Charlotte, North Carolina, market say they are re-emphasizing safety processes and procedures after an agent was allegedly victimized by a man who’d arranged to tour homes with her the day before.
Brian Harold Cooper, 49, faces one count each of rape, attempted rape, felonious restraint and kidnapping, and two counts of sexual assault, the Charlotte Observer reports.
The Salisbury Post reports that Cooper was arrested in 2004 after allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend hostage at knifepoint inside her home, and was convicted in 2005 of felony second-degree kidnapping.
The Observer said at least three other Charlotte-area real estate agents have been the targets of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault since 2001.
Inman News published a three-part series focusing on personal safety in 2011, after agent fatalities reached their highest level in years in 2010. Source: charlotteobserver.com.
