Investigators with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office provided this sketch, made from a description provided by an 82-year-old woman of the man she said raped her in July.
The woman, recently released from Gadsden Regional Medical Center and still recovering from heart surgery and a broken hip from the rape, was able to describe her attacker to investigators to get a sketch two months after her attack, said Calhoun County Chief Deputy Matthew Wade.
“We want to solve this more than anything else we’re currently dealing with,” Wade said. “This is a heinous crime by a violent individual and we want to catch him.”
The woman said she was raped on July 15 in the driveway of her home in northern Calhoun County after returning from a Dollar General store in Alexandria. The woman said she believes she was followed home from the store.
During the attack, a man threw the woman to the ground, sexually assaulted her and then took her wallet. She suffered a broken hip and likely had a heart attack, Wade said.
“That she is alive is a miracle,” Wade said. “That’s a life-changing, traumatic experience for anyone, let alone an 82-year-old woman.”
Since the incident, the governor’s office has offered a cash reward to anyone with information that could lead to an arrest. Wade said residents with knowledge of the person in the sketch or the crime should contact the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office at 256-236-6600.
Staff writer Brian Anderson: 256-235-3546. On Twitter @BAnderson_Star.
