An 18-year-old sexual assault suspect in Florida was left with a swollen eye after his victim fought back, hitting him in the face with a cell phone, police said.
The suspect, Henrry Gonzalez-Thomas, 18, allegedly stood outside a Deerfield Beach nightclub on Sunday trying to solicit sex from the woman, thinking she was a prostitute, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Thomas allegedly asked the woman several times, “How much?” and “How much to get with you?”
The woman replied that “she was not a prostitute” and tried to go around the suspect to enter the nightclub, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Gonzalez-Thomas then allegedly punched her in the face above her right eyebrow. Investigators say he also attempted to lift her dress up and pull her to the ground.
But the unidentified woman fought back, using her cell phone to hit Gonzalez-Thomas in his face. She also kicked him
The suspect then allegedly tried to choke her until she nearly passed out. Detectives noted in an arrest report that she had several finger-shaped bruises on her neck.
Gonzalez-Thomas ran away after bystanders tried to intervene, but he was chased down and held not too far away until authorities arrived, according to the arrest report.
Authorities then arrested Gonzalez-Thomas and charged him with attempted sexual assault and drug possession. Police added the second charge after officers discovered a bag of white powder which tested positive for cocaine.
When he appeared in court on Monday, Gonzalez-Thomas claimed through his attorney— Assistant Broward Public Defender Hector Romero— that he was the victim of the attack.
A judge set Gonzalez-Thomas’s bond at $11,000 and ordered him not to contact the victim if he gets out on bond.
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