A Tale of Two Rapes

Both alleged crimes are rape, yet they could hardly be more dissimilar. The attack in Colbert Square was planned, yet random. The victim reported the crime to police in a matter of minutes after she was free. There were witnesses (two women in two other apartments who were first approached).

Now we need someone to come forward who knows the miscreant. Whether from Sheffield or the Shoals or not, he had been in the area long enough to be familiar with Colbert Square and the York Terrace area in general. Call the Sheffield Police if you know anything. This crime may have been some kind of initiation, but it could also have been the beginning of a series of attacks on women. We don't know and we don't want to find out the hard way.

The second rape? It's just been reported:

August UNA Rape

The alleged victim took seven weeks to report the crime. She knew her attacker and he apparently committed no other crime during the rape (nothing was stolen). Why did she wait?

The young woman may have been traumatized or had to be encouraged by her friends to say something officially. After seven weeks, it's also possible that the woman has visited medical personnel and discovered her attacker left her with physical problems. It's also possible the woman has learned her rapist has attempted the same with other co-eds and doesn't want him free to hurt others.

No matter the young woman's reason for waiting, we can't deny it will be much harder to prosecute this crime...or even to indict. It's a horrible thing, but if you're raped, report it immediately. Ask for (demand) assistance from Rape Response or similar group, and if you're able, hire a private attorney to represent you.

Good luck to anyone going through such an ordeal. Let us know if we can help. We will at least try.



Shoalanda

The Rape at Colbert Square Apartments

Last Tuesday night a man visited the Colbert Square Apartments, a complex adjacent to Sheffield Junior High School, a complex that residents had reported on to the Sheffield City Council as far back as 2009. He knocked on three doors before he found a resident who opened the door to him. All three apartments belonged to women.

Colbert Square Directly Across from Sheffield Baseball Field

At the third apartment, the man asked for Debbie. When told there was no Debbie there, the African American, said to be in his mid to late twenties, forced his way into the apartment and raped the 54 year-old tenant. The victim managed to strike the intruder with a heavy ashtray, leaving a large gash on his forehead.

As the rapist left the modest apartment where units rent from $250.00 to $285.00 a month (in red), he took his victim's cell phone and vehicle. Just six blocks away at the intersection of York Terrace and Almon Street (in blue), the intruder abandoned the Ford Taurus and presumably made his way from there on foot.

Now six days later, the rapist is still at large. Any crime of this nature is troubling, but this particular crime is doubly so. 

1. The intruder had obviously scoped out the complex and knew which units were inhabited by single women.

2. Money was not the object of the crime, and no items taken were retained by the rapist.

3. This crime comes on the heels of a violent attack on a Sheffield man that was said to be a type of gang activity, perhaps an initiation of sorts.

Sheffield police need everyone's help in solving this heinous crime. If you have any information, call 256 383-1771.

Shoalanda