Man charged with kidnapping previously convicted of rape
Massachusetts police say Gordon Lyons assaulted woman and tried to drag her into his car.
A female jogger in Massachusetts managed to fight off an attempted kidnapper who allegedly sexually assaulted her as he tried to drag the woman into his car early Sunday morning.
The frightening confrontation caught on a surveillance camera shows a man identified as Gordon J. Lyons, 57, slowly pulling up his car to the 37-year-old woman while she jogged down the street.
In the footage, the man can be seen getting out of his car, approaching the woman and then attempting to grab her. The two then scuffled behind a tree where he allegedly assaulted the jogger before jumping back into his car and speeding away.
FEMALE WORLD CUP REPORTER SEXUALLY ASSAULTED DURING LIVE BROADCAST
The female jogger can be seen fighting off the attempted kidnapper while on her morning jog. (Bridgewater Police Dept.)
"I just knew that I needed to do whatever I needed to do in order to be OK," the unidentified victim told Enterprise News of Brockton. "I knew I needed to defend myself and be smart. I knew I needed to do something."
She added, "I kept thinking 'what would Dad want me to do?'"
Bridgewater police say the jogger took a photo of his car after the terrifying altercation. Investigators matched the photo to the suspect’s license plate after he crashed his car about seven miles away from the scene.
On Wednesday, Bridgewater police revealed Lyons was convicted of rape in 1978. The details of the crime were not released.
Lyons pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.
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