"I'm still in shock. I can't believe they did it."
The courageous mother did not want to be identified, but police tell Action News the vigilant woman helped them put three teenaged bad guys behind bars.
She called 911 when she overheard them talking with her son in their Upper Darby Township basement about having a gun.
"I called 911, 'there is a boy supposedly with a gun in my house; come and get him.'"
When police arrived, they realized they were the same suspects wanted in a crime that occurred hours earlier.
"This was a heinous, horrific, tragic crime," said Supt. Michael Chitwood.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says on Christmas night, instead of spending feel good time with family, the three teenage males committed several sickening crimes--including rape, kidnapping, assault and robbery.
They have been identified as 19-year-old Brehon Rawlings, 17-year-old Kevin Jones and Kewon Matthews.
Supt. Chitwood said around 11:30 p.m. the brazen trio approached a 22-year-old woman who was sitting inside of her parked car at George's Water Ice on Marshall Road waiting for her boyfriend.
Armed with a gun, they forced their way in and spent the next 5 hours driving through Philadelphia while repeatedly sexually assaulting the woman--who has a 2-year old daughter. They threatened her and her child's lives.
"Numerous times her mom calls on her cell and they force her to talk to her and tell her she was with friends," explained Supt. Chitwood.
Hours later, and back in Upper Darby, the men pulled over in the area of Galway's Pub. Police say they robbed the rape victim before taking off to a friend's house.
In addition to physical evidence, police say the mother's intuition was a pretty powerful police resource.
"A woman calls in and says 'I don't know what's going on, there are three guys downstairs talking about what a great time they had last night-something about a gun and a handbag,'" he said.
Police responded and all three suspects were taken into custody and charged with multiple offenses.
"I'm not thinking about being credited or anything. It was just my instinct," she said.
It is believed the suspects spared the victim's life because she has a 2-year-old daughter.
All three suspects are being held on $500,000 bail.
