WINTHROP, Mass. — A man is being held without bail Friday, accused of trying to rape someone in front of his 3-year-old daughter.
Police say Gerardo Portillo drove up to the woman while she was walking on a street in Winthrop Monday. He allegedly tried to get her to do a sex act, while his 3 year-old was in the back seat.
The victim told police he was rubbing her shoulders while she walked away and then grabbed her by the throat while trying to pull her shorts down. When she screamed police say her punched her in the face before driving off.
The suspect was arrested Thursday night, police using witness and surveillance evidence to track Portillo down.
Justin Rowe was around the corner from the assault Monday when he first heard the screams. He ran behind the 7-Eleven, where he saw a car pulling out.
"She came out of the alley holding her eye. I immediately saw blood dripping down her arm so I ran over," said Rowe told FOX25 News.
He memorized the plate, and said he kept repeating the plate number to himself. He then ran back to help the woman, who he actually knew.
"She could barely talk and probably delirious from being punched in the face," he said.
As reported on the FOX25 News at 5, the nearby Demetri Brothers Liquors captured parts of what happened on cameras. Police say Portillo is seen near the parking lot getting out of his car, leaving his daughter alone, and trying to get the woman back to the car.
Portillo is charged with assault to commit felony, assault to rape, strangulation, indecent assault and battery, reckless endangerment of a child, and attempt to commit crime.
Cox Media Group
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