Woman survives sexually-motivated attack in her own home

HOUSTON – “I absolutely believe this was a crime of opportunity.”

A woman, who we are not identifying, was reading a book in her garage late Monday night when she was attacked. 

A man appeared out of nowhere in her quiet, gated community near South Gessner and Briar Forest. 

“He said very clearly, 'I hate you,'” the woman said. “The way he pushed me back and drug me by my hair, he wasn’t trying to rob me.”

She and her attacker struggled for several minutes on the ground.

He was trying to take her clothes off.

The shirt she was wearing that night is ripped from the neckline down to the waist.

“It was not about robbing me, it was about violating me,” she said. “I kicked him three times very hard in sensitive areas.”

She was able to get away, and her attacker took off.

She said self-defense training saved her life. She's only taken a few classes over the last several years, but what she learned is burned into her brain.  

“I know that it saved me from being sexually assaulted,” she said. “That’s why self-defense training courses are so important. I can’t emphasize that enough.”

The victim wants people in her West Houston neighborhood to know this happened so they can be on the lookout. Police are still looking for the suspect.

He’s described as having a dark-complexion and about 5 feet 6 inches tall. He was on foot, wearing a checkered shirt, dark pants and black shoes.