Richmond County authorities are looking for a suspect after a homeless woman said she was raped early Thursday after using a pool at the Hendrix Apartments on Boy Scout Road.
The 36-year-old woman told authorities that she jumped a fence to get inside the pool area to sleep early Thursday after a night of drinking. Prior to sleeping, she removed her clothing, entered the pool and began to clean the leaves out of it.
“She felt it was a way to say thank you for her using the tent to sleep in,” a report says. “As she was cleaning the pool, a black male who she did not know climbed over the fence and yelled at her wanting to know where the ‘rock’ was that she stole from him.”
The victim said she knew the man only as “Jake,” who she had seen earlier at the Time Saver on Boy Scout Road. She described him as a tall black male wearing two gold chains, a white University of Florida jersey with the number 6 on it and the name JAMES on the back.
The report continues, “She got out of the pool and put her clothes on. The male then grabbed her, pushed her into the tent on the pool deck, and shoved her down on a pool chair. The subject then removed her clothing, grabbed her by the throat and forced her to have sex with him against her will. The male kept choking her, telling her he was going to kill her. She nearly lost consciousness from being choked.”
The suspect left the area just before it began to get light outside, climbing back over the fence. The victim suffered bruising on both sides of her neck. Deputies noted that her voice was raspy, and she could not speak above a whisper. She was transported to Doctor’s Hospital Emergency Room for treatment and to have a Sexual Assault Evidence kit collected.
Any information concerning this subject’s identity or whereabouts contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at 706-821-1080, or any on-call Violent Crimes Investigator at 706-821-1020.
