Homeless Man Attempts To Rape Teacher In Broad Daylight, Puts Rope Around Her Neck

A teacher from Atlanta, Georgia, said a homeless man attempted to rape and strangle her in broad daylight last Thursday.

The mother-of-two, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the attack occurred at around 7:15 a.m. on Peachtree Avenue, Buckhead, while she was returning home from walking her dog, WSB-TV first reported. She was near Atlanta International School when she noticed a stranger, identified as Laquai Barrett, approaching her.

"He didn't say anything," the unnamed woman said. "He was just watching me."

According to her, she was a short distance away from her home and was entering the code to her gated community when Barrett snuck up behind her, grabbed her by her hoodie and threw her to the ground.

"He jumped on me like a leopard," the victim said.

Barrett then proceeded to grab the victim's hoodie around her neck and drag her to her garage, where he attempted to strangle her with a rope.

"He put the rope around my neck. I knew that if he got that around me, I'd be strangled," the woman explained.

The woman said she kept screaming that she was unable to breathe and told Barrett about her family in an attempt to reason with him. When she finally broke free from him, she ran inside her home and set off the alarm.

She warned Barrett, who had followed her inside, that "the police will be here in one minute." Barrett then fled the scene with the victim's phone.

Police were able to find Barrett using the Find My Friends app on the phone, which tipped off his location at a men's bathroom in Garden Hills Park.

According to the victim, it took four police officers and a Taser to take Barrett into custody.

The assailant was charged with attempted rape and kidnapping, among other felonies. The victim's lawyers are pushing for an attempted murder charge to be added to his list of felonies.

While the woman said she found standing up against her attacker empowering, she added, "Nobody should have to go through this."