Police: Restaurant Owner Chased Down Customer, Sexually Assaulted Her

A Rockville restaurant owner was recently arrested on charges he chased down a customer, groped her and exposed himself to her – and the sex offenses are similar to a 2008 conviction on the man’s record.

Dimitrios Fragoyannis, 49, of the 10500 block of Rivers Bend Lane in Potomac, was charged with a sex offense last month. The complaint was filed after a 42-year-old woman reported she was assaulted by Fragoyannis June 12 after leaving the Mamma Lucia restaurant on Shady Grove Road in Rockville.

The victim told officers that while she was eating in the restaurant, she noticed that Fragoyannis, who was unknown to her, kept staring at her. When the customer drove out of the parking lot Fragoyannis followed her in his car, then honked his horn several times to get her attention. He yelled for her to pull over, which she did, telling police she thought something might have been wrong with her car.

Fragoyannis parked beside the victim’s car, reached into the victim’s car and sexually assaulted the woman, police say. The victim yelled for Fragoyannis to stop and pushed him away. The police report says Fragoyannis reached back into the vehicle and sexually assaulted the victim again. Fragoyannis then reportedly unzipped his pants, and exposed himself to the victim.

On June 15, officers obtained an arrest warrant for Fragoyannis, charging him with one count of fourth-degree sex offense, one count of indecent exposure, and one count of second-degree assault. Fragoyannis was arrested on June 19 by police and was released from the Central Processing Unit after posting a $5,000 bond.

The accusations against Fragoyannis are out of character for the church-going man, his business partner, Bruno Fabi, told WJLA. Fabi described the accused as a loyal husband, loving father and pillar of the community.

An April 2008 Gazette story says Fragoyannis was convicted in December 2007 on second-degree assault and fourth-degree sex offense charges, resulting in 18 months of probation and a $1,000 fine. He was arrested after an 18-year-old waitress reported Fragoyannis grabbed her buttocks and groped her under her shirt.

The restaurant has locations on Shady Grove Road and on Rockville Pike – both in Rockville -- as well as eateries in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Olney and College Park.

»PHOTO: Dimitrios Fragoyannis, courtesy of Montgomery County Police