February 01, 2004
Pasco: Rapist faked survey to get into home
Full story: St. Petersburg Times Online
The man, who came to the victim's front door about 1:45 p.m., claimed to be taking a survey, Detective Travis Vail said. Vail gave this account of what followed: The woman unlocked the door and put her two large dogs in another room. She was returning to the door when the man came inside. She tried to run back to let the dogs free, but the man knocked her to the floor and began beating her. She punched and kicked, but the man overpowered her. He had a 6-inch knife sheathed to his waist, which the woman did not notice until he pulled it out. The man was also armed with some sort of wooden dowel. Though the victim did not recognize him, the man called her by her first name and told her he had been watching her. The man, who had a heavy, muscular build, dragged her into the garage, where he found some bailing twine. He used the twine to tie her wrists behind her back and ran the end of it up around her neck. Then he dragged her to the living room and raped her, wearing a condom. "You call the police," he said, "and I'll be back for you." Then he fled though the back door. Still bound, the woman managed to get to a phone, knock it off its cradle and dial 911, possibly using her mouth, Vail said.Posted by stupefied
02:30 PM