Former manager of small-town grocery store accused of sexual assault again

The victim told police on Sept. 10 that Shelton flirted with her during her shifts and arranged her hours to match when he was managing the store. He said they had sexual conversations late at night.

The victim told police Shelton pushed her toward him one day while she was cleaning coffee pots in the back room of the grocery store. She also said Shelton touched her inappropriately in his office and in his car.

The sexual assaults stopped when Shelton’s significant other found out about the relationship in 2021 and started texting the victim. The victim said he quit his job at that point and did not hear from Shelton until August 20 of this year, two days before his arrest. In text messages reviewed by police, Shelton apologized and said he missed their friendship.

Police said Shelton admitted to all three assaults.

They arrested Shelton on Aug. 22 after receiving word that he had exchanged explicit messages with another teenage cashier.

The previous victim told police that in 2022, Shelton, who had been her supervisor since she started working at the Market at age 14, sexually assaulted her in his office on the store’s second floor.