Center City rape victim speaks to Action News

PHILADELPHIA - December 5, 2013

The victim doesn't want to give her name, but recounted the night she was held down by one man, as another raped her.

The woman, who just moved to Philadelphia from Minnesota, told Action News she is still distraught that no one has been caught.

However, she has learned from the police that there is a witness in the case who may have saved her life.

The incident happened as she left the Center City nightclub Tabu to pay the parking meter. She was attacked in the nearby alley at 13th and St. James.

"As I was going down the alley, someone grabbed me from behind, hit me in the face," she said.

She says she was held down by one man, and raped from behind by a second man.

"Another assailant had my arm tied above my head with a piece of something, and there was also something around my throat. I couldn't breathe," she said. "Then someone passing by yelled 'Hey!'"

The passerby ran off, but so did the suspects.

The passerby has since come forward to police and is apparently a medical student who lives nearby.

The victim has no idea who her attackers were but says she got a good look at one of them.

He is 5'9", has shoulder length braids, a blue button down shirt, and khaki pants.

The victim's husband lives out of the country and doesn't know about her sexual assault.

She moved here to be close to his family with her best friend.

She is hoping to get the suspects off the street so she can heal, both emotionally and physically. She says she is still in pain.

"My knees are still all scraped up. I still have marks on my wrists. My spine is all messed up. I still have migraines every single day."

During the attack, the victim says she did get a parking ticket. She is also trying to fight that in court.

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