The chilling moment an alleged rapist trapped his victim was caught on security camera video.
“As soon as I hit the corner, I just felt somebody snatch me up in a headlock," the victim said. NBC 5 is not naming her because she is the victim of a sexual assault.
It happened just after midnight early last week in the 7400 block of Arkansas Street. The victim says she was walking home with headphones on when the suspect forced her into an alley with a weapon, robbed her and raped her.
“I didn’t know what to do. He told me not to scream. I didn’t know if he was going to hurt me or what. So, it was like alright. You just cooperate and hopefully it’ll be over soon," she said.
The security cameras on a neighbor’s home recorded the frightening scene just moments after he got home.
“What if I had walked outside and watered the flowers like I usually do," neighbor Raymond Lee Alexander said. "I could have stopped it.”"
It was the second rape in the Hessville area of Hammond in two weeks.
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In late July police say an underage girl was sexually assaulted in a similar way here in the 6700 block of Grand Avenue. This time in broad daylight.
“I’m very scared. My daughter goes to school right on 165th and I’m scared," said Lytera Moore, who said she lives nearby where the attack happened.
The suspect in both cases is described as five foot seven to five foot ten with an average build wearing a hoodie and shorts.
Hammond police are warning residents to be extra alert. Avoid walking alone and in dark areas. And do not wear headphones while walking. Anyone with information about the cases is asked to contact Hammond police detectives special victims unit.
