CCTV footage has captured the shocking moment a US woman was stabbed in the backside with a syringe containing semen.
The video, released by police in the state of Maryland, shows a woman with a trolley entering a supermarket as a man approaches her from behind.
He can be seen sidling closely up to her before she jumps back, apparently clutching herself in pain.
The victim later told officers at the Anne Arundel Police Department that she had been assaulted with what felt like a needle, sparking a formal investigation on February 18.
A week later, on February 25, detectives received an anonymous tip-off about a potential suspect.
Investigators said they found a syringe containing liquid in door of a suspect's car, as well as others in his house, local broadcaster WBAL-TV reported.
Subsequent testing revealed that the substance in the syringes was semen.
On February 28, police charged 51-year-old Thomas Byron Stemen with first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He is being held in jail.
The victim initially thought she was burnt by a cigarette, the station reported.
She told the broadcaster that the 51-year-old assailant asked her: “It felt like a bee sting didn’t it?”
Anne Arundel Police tweeted on Friday that the investigation remains “extremely active” as there could be other victims.
“Detectives believe there may be additional victims who have yet to report similar incidents,” they said.
