The female reporter who had her butt slapped by a man live on-air while she was covering a River Bridge Run in Georgia on Saturday is pursuing sexual battery charges ... TMZ Sports has learned.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ Sports, WSAV's Alex Bozarjian was reporting from the River Bridge Run in Savannah, Georgia when a runner named Tommy Callaway "approached from behind her and smacked her on the buttocks."
Bozarjian describes the incident as a "smack and grab" -- "advising that he also grabbed her buttocks in the same motion."
Check out this jerk smacking a @WSAV reporter's ass live on air. And sorry, that's my kiddo making horribly timed weird noises in the background. pic.twitter.com/6tzi6P1Jbo
— Tonya (@GrrrlZilla) December 7, 2019
Bozarjian says she felt a "sharp sting" and it caused her to pause during the live broadcast -- which you can see in the video.
The 23-year-old -- who was later outraged by the actions, calling them on social media "violating" and "embarrassing" -- says Callaway reached out to her station a few hours later to try to apologize ... and offered to come to the station to do it in person.
Bozarjian says she has not spoken to Callaway -- but the phone calls and messages were relayed to her.
For his part, 43-year-old Callaway has lawyered up -- and his attorney issued this statement.
"While we regret the situation, Mr. Callaway did not act with any criminal intentions."
"Tommy is a loving husband and father who is very active in the community. We have been in touch with WSAV and representatives of Ms. Alex Bozarjian, as well as members of Savannah law enforcement."