Couple sees rape victim on their way to work, stops to help
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A young woman walking to a bus stop was dragged to a wooded area and raped behind a gas station along Flint River Road in Riverdale on Wednesday morning.
The victim spoke with FOX 5's Kerry Charles by phone.
“What were you thinking,” Charles asked.
“That I was going to die,” says the victim.
Anthony Bernard Thomas, Jr.,18, faces several charges including kidnapping and rape. Clayton County Police say he is the suspect in the case.
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The assault happened around 6:45 a.m.
“A lot of people drove past me,” says the victim.
The victim had only been in the area for about two weeks. On Thursday, she returned to her home state. She said to wanted to speak with FOX 5 News because she did not want to be silenced.
“To try to get people to understand, like this isn't a joke, this is not cool, it's not funny, it's not fair. I wanted someone to understand how I feel.”
The victim, who fought back, says her attacker forced her to walk a half mile along a busy Flint River Road. At the same time Lucinda Ukiwo and Kenneth Kindred were headed to work.
They spotted the two, turned around and onto Glenwoods Drive.
“When I pulled up on the guy he had no care in his face,” says Ukiwo.
“When I jumped out the truck I cussed him out,” says Kindred. “I said, 'What you do to that little girl?'”
They say Thomas took off running. He was arrested by Clayton County Police.
“This situation is the main reason why people should stop and help,” says the victim. “I know it's not your business and you don't want to get involved, but saving somebody's life that's a big thing.”
The victim told Charles she is grateful for Kindred and Ukiwo.
“I felt like they really did save me. I mean, they did, but like it was like God was there and there were two angels that had me.”
Thomas appeared before in court on Thursday. A judge denied bond. Thomas remained in jail Friday without bond.
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