Brutal Attack On Girl, 15, Prompts Reward Offer

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — As St. Petersburg Police continue to search for a man wanted in connection with a brutal attack on a 15-year-old girl, authorities have announced a reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case. Crime Stoppers is offering up to $3,000 for the man’s capture, the police department reported Tuesday.

Police on Monday released a sketch of the suspect in the May attack. The girl, police say, was brutally beaten and is believed to have been sexually assaulted. The girl was found after the attack wandering a street.

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According to the agency, its officers first became aware of a problem with the 15-year-old girl around 12:48 a.m. May 27 when her mom called to report her as a runaway. The mother told officers she hadn’t seen her daughter since 8:50 p.m. May 26. Officers tried to locate the girl after receiving the mother’s call for help, but had no luck.

At 4:26 a.m. May 27, police were called about an injured young woman who was “found dazed and walking on 22nd Avenue South near 12th Street,” a June 12 email from the police department said. Detectives determined the girl was the same one that had been reported as a runaway earlier that morning.

“She had been beaten and possibly sexually assaulted,” the email said. The teen was beaten so severely, injuries to her jaw and face prevented her from speaking with detectives immediately following the attack.

“Three detectives have spent the last two weeks actively trying to retrace her steps and interviewing everyone she came in contact with that night,” the Monday email said. They have tracked down surveillance video and some leads. DNA test results are still pending.

Anyone who recognizes the man in the sketch is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS or go online to www.crimestoppersofpinellas.org.

No further information is available at this time.

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Sketch courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department