A sex offender remains in jail after he was arrested on charges of raping a woman and almost strangling her in east Orlando.
Authorities said the woman got off a Lynx bus near Goldenrod Road and East Colonial Drive in early August and the man grabbed her as she walked down the sidewalk, then pulled her behind the trees.
Police said Lavar Willis had tried to get the woman into the woods once before and even exposed himself to her in a parking lot.
She said she managed to get away that time, but he overpowered her in the most recent attack in broad daylight.
"When I stepped outside of my vehicle, I heard some yelling going on from a field in the parking lot," said witness Michele Bamberg.
Bamberg came to the victim's rescue.
"He got on his bike and drove off fast, and she came up running as I was running toward them. She came out with her top off and she was completely exposed, and she was screaming, ‘Help me! Help me! He's raping me,’" said Bamberg.
After a composite sketch was released of the attacker, Willis was arrested.
"I feel sorry for that lady. Really sorry. May God bless her," said neighbor Margarita Oferrao.
Bamberg said she was glad she was there to help.
"I'm really glad to hear that they've potentially caught him, and I hope that my testimony of what I saw can help the case, because a lot of times these rape cases become a he said, she said," said Bamberg.
Police said Willis is a registered sex offender was convicted of two sex crimes four years ago in Michigan.
Cox Media Group
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