Good Samaritan Helps Blind Rape Victim

The victim feared the attacker might still be in her home

By DANIELLE JOHNSON

Updated 6:17 PM EST, Mon, Nov 30, 2009

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A visually impaired woman who was beaten and raped in her Holmesburg home Sunday afternoon got unexpected help from a Good Samaritan before police arrived.

The man, who did not want to be identified, was at a bar near the woman's home and heard her cries for help.

"I went towards the voice and found this poor thing sitting on her step with duck tape around her jaw," the man told NBC 10's Harry Hairston. "The only thing I could do was hold her and calm her down, that's all I could do," he said.

The attack happened just after dark in the 7300 block of Torresdale Avenue. The victim, 50, told police she was entering her home when two men approached her from behind with a knife and a gun and forced her into her home.

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One of the attackers beat her, bound her with tape and sexually assaulted her.

The woman called police nearly four hours after her attack, according to investigators.

"She was able to make her way to the front entrance by crawling even though she was still bound," said Police Captain John Darby.

Police say the two men knew what they were looking for after ransacking the property for specific items. Police won't say which items were stolen. Investigators believe the rape was a crime of opportunity.

"We believe that this might not be a random act, that in fact this location was choosen," said Captain Darby.

Police said the woman feared the attacker might still be inside her home and so police called in the SWAT team.

The woman was treated and released from the hospital and was being interviewed by officers with the Special Victims Unit early Monday morning.