Surveillance footage from a gym in Florida shows how a young woman fought off a brazen assault by a male attacker.
The assault occurred on Jan. 22 at a small workout facility in the Inwood Park Apartment Complex in Tampa.
According to a report by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), 24-year-old Nashali Alma was lifting weights alone when she noticed a man at the locked door. Alma thought nothing of it as she had seen the man before, and complex residents sometimes come to the gym having forgotten their key.
Alma stopped her workout and opened the door, allowing 25-year-old Xavier Thomas-Jones into the facility. Shortly after returning to her workout, Thomas-Jones walked up behind Alma and attempted to grab her waist.
Alma turned and demanded Thomas-Jones leave her alone.
Alma recalled what happened: “As soon as he approached me, I pushed him. I said, ‘Bro, what … are you doing? Get away from me. Stop trying to touch me.’ He started chasing me around the bench, and we ended up on the other side of the gym.”
HCSO-A-1
Video shows Thomas-Jones chasing Alma around the gym while she fought him off and attempted to use her phone.
Thomas-Jones caught Alma, but she continued fighting even after being thrown to the floor.
Incredibly, Alma fought her way free and ran out of the gym to the safety of a nearby apartment, according to the police report.
HCSO authorities report they arrested Thomas-Jones the next day and charged him with sexual battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping. He faces decades in prison if convicted.
Fox 13 Tampa reported that court documents show Thomas-Jones confessed to the crimes and stated he “wanted to have sex with Alma.”
Alma shared a word of advice to women who may face a similar situation in the future: “Never give up.”
Alma added, “My parents always told me in life to never give up on anything, and that’s one thing I always kept in my mind when I was fighting him.”
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