87-year-old is said to have attacked a woman with dementia at the post office

An 87-year-old villager has been arrested after allegedly attacking a woman with dementia at a post office.

A 911 caller reported around 5 p.m. Tuesday that a man, later identified as Sidney Soclof, was “actively striking” a woman in the passenger seat of a vehicle at the Summerhill Post Station, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

An officer arrived at the post office and saw Soclof “hitting something inside the vehicle.” The officer ran over and handcuffed the Cleveland, Ohio native.

The 82-year-old woman’s hands were tied with a plastic cord. She was covered in food, had lettuce and tomatoes on her clothes and mustard on the right side of her face. There were “sandwich foods scattered throughout the vehicle” and “food smears on the passenger window.” The officer concluded that the woman had been banging on the window. The deputy noted the woman had “cognitive mental health issues” and later confirmed she was suffering from dementia.

The heavily redacted arrest report provided no explanation for Soclof’s connection to the woman. He is the sole owner of his home in The Villages and his Facebook page states that he is “widowed.”

Soclof, who has owned his home in the Village of Summerhill since 2016, teaches at the Enrichment Academy in The Villages. His courses have included music appreciation, history, and a course called “The Making of the Modern World,” in which he addresses the challenges of pollution and climate change. He is a According to his biography on the Amazon book page, he is a professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles. His bio also states that he spent 12 years giving “lectures on destinations and general interest” on cruise ships around the world.

He was arrested for assault and false imprisonment. He was held at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $1,000 bond.