FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ She was in Florida from Missouri and was walking _ looking for the Salvation Army in downtown Fort Lauderdale. He rode up on a bicycle and offered to take her there.
But it all went sour on that Jan. 15, 2014, when the woman realized her helper was guiding her off the main road and she asked where they were going.
And it would take six years until a Fort Lauderdale man, Frandy Delices, would be accused of the sex attack that the woman described to police.
"I'm taking you, we're almost there. It's a surprise," the man now identified as Delices said, according to police. It was the word "surprise" that jolted her into deciding to refuse his help and walk off on her own.
Before she could get away, Delices was off his bicycle and grabbing her with both his arms and throwing her to the ground despite her screams and attempts to get away.
The police report describes the woman being grabbed by the throat and slapped and threatened before being sexually attacked.
"I'm not a killer," he said, while promising not to hurt her if she stayed quiet.
And Delices used a condom "because he did not want to give her any diseases," the police report said. But the telltale evidence that would eventually lead investigators to Delices was his kisses to her neck and one of her breasts.
When her attacker fled and she was able to retrieve her cellphone that he tossed aside, she called her boyfriend for help and went to the hospital to report the rape.
A rape kit was collected at the Nancy J. Cotterman Treatment Center and the woman gave investigators a description of her attacker.
The case lingered until the very end of 2018 when there was a DNA match from the swab of her left breast that led investigators to Delices. Several months later, in July 2019, the woman met with detectives in Missouri and "began crying" when she saw a picture of Delices in a photo lineup, police said.
Delices, now 37, was arrested Feb. 12 and charged with three counts of sex battery. At his initial court hearing, officials indicated he has no significant criminal history and has been employed as a cook.
On Friday, Delices remained in Broward's jail on bonds totaling $75,000.
