Note: This story contains graphic depictions of sexual assault claims.
John Siggers, the owner of Tucker-based Siggers Hairdressers, who is the subject of a sexual assault and harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee, has been arrested and charged with two counts of sexual battery.
DeKalb District Attorney’s Office representatives stated that the two charges are misdemeanors that the Office of the Solicitor General will handle.
Siggers was charged on Friday, Nov. 21, and released on an undisclosed bond about five hours later. According to information on the DeKalb County Sheriff website, the incidents associated with the charges occurred on Dec. 2, 2023, and May 3, 2024. One date aligns with allegations filed by a former employee cited in a lawsuit filed on Aug. 14 by former Siggers apprentice Stephanie Dhondt.
DeKalb County Police incident reports obtained by Rough Draft show that four complaints were filed accusing John Siggers of sexual battery during a period from 2020 to 2024, but until Nov. 21, no charges had been brought.
All but one of the complaints were heavily redacted, including the victim’s name, address, and the entire narrative portion of the report. The single narrative that was not redacted was filed by DeKalb Officer JD Blanc regarding a sexual battery complaint that allegedly occurred on Dec. 2, 2023.
Blanc met with the complainant, who said she worked at Siggers Hairdressers from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, 2023.
The victim stated that she called the business on Dec. 2 to say she couldn’t come to work that day, because she didn’t have enough money for gas. The report states that Siggers encouraged the complainant to come to work and offered to pay for her gas.
“When [name redacted] arrived at the hairdresser, Mr. Siggers gave [name redacted] $40 for gas…. Mr. Siggers told [name redacted] that if [name redacted] allowed him to touch, he would give [name redacted] more money and make [name redacted] the best hairdresser,” the report said.
Siggers, according to the narrative, started to touch the victim and pushed himself closer to her until someone walked into the salon. He then allegedly gave the victim $500. According to the report, Dec. 2 was the last day of the victim’s employment.
The Dhondt lawsuit, which was filed in DeKalb County Superior Court on Aug. 14 and later moved to federal court, claims that John F. Siggers, 87, “systematically preyed upon and sexually assaulted Stephanie Dhondt, a now 23-year-old cosmetology apprentice who was his employee from approximately March 2023 to May 2025.”
Several months into Dhondt’s employment, Siggers allegedly began his “systematic campaign of sexual harassment and assault against Ms. Dhondt,” the lawsuit said.
“Defendant Siggers’ typical pattern involved sitting in his office chair downstairs
holding $100 bills while demanding sexual favors from Ms. Dhondt,” the complaint said. “On at least ten occasions, Defendant Siggers digitally penetrated Ms. Dhondt by putting his hands down her pants without her consent.”
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• Owner of Siggers Hairdressers hit with sexual assault, battery, and harassment suit
The defendant was aware of Dhondt’s financial situation as a minimum wage employee with a child to support, the suit said. He offered her cash while making it clear that she had to “do something in return.”
The suit also alleges that Siggers exposed himself to Dhondt several times, harassed her on a “near daily basis” while she was working at the salon, and when she refused him, threatened her “financial security.”
After the father of Dhondt’s child died in November of 2024, the lawsuit said Siggers increased his pressure on her to perform sexual acts in an attempt to capitalize on her financial distress.
The suit said several employees witnessed Siggers touch Dhondt inappropriately on multiple occasions.
The suit does not specify an amount for damages, but asks for punitive damages, lost wages, and front pay, compensatory damages, “in an amount to be determined by the enlightened conscience of the jury,” and for the plaintiff’s “emotional distress, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, lost wages, and other special damages.”
Rough Draft reached out to Dhondt’s attorney, Rachel Berlin Benjamin of Beal Sutherland Berlin & Brown, for comment regarding the sexual assault charges.
“We appreciate law enforcement’s attention to this matter and look forward to the conclusions reached through their investigative process,” Benjamin said. “It is encouraging to see this work now underway.”
Benjamin told Rough Draft in August that several women had filed reports with the DeKalb County Police department claiming that Siggers had sexually assaulted and harassed them “with no arrests or action,” thus leading to the civil action.
Rough Draft Atlanta has contacted Mary Donne Peters of Gorby, Peters & Associates, who is representing Siggers and his wife Carol Siggers in the civil matter, for comment regarding the criminal charges.
Carol Siggers, who is also a defendant in Dhondt’s lawsuit, has not been charged in connection with the allegations that led to her husband’s arrest, according to jail records.
According to its website, Siggers Hairdressers, which has been in its location since 1980, won Marie Claire Magazine’s “Best in Color,” “Cut & Style,” as well being named as Atlanta Magazine’s Top 10 Salons. It was named the Tucker Mayor’s Annual Business Award winner for 2022, honoring “their longevity and service to not only Tucker but the Southeast.”
Siggers, on its social media pages, offers apprentice-based training as an alternative to beauty schools, offering “on-the-job, hands-on” instruction that allows aspiring hairdressers to be paid while learning the business.