ST. LOUIS — A man who posed as a food delivery driver to get inside a Central West End apartment building sat behind bars Thursday.
Police arrested 27-year-old Jaquan D. Rush of Ferguson and charged him with first-degree felony sexual abuse and misdemeanor sexual misconduct.
According to charging documents, a woman reported that she let a man who identified himself as a food delivery man into her apartment building on Kingshighway Boulevard.
Once he was inside, the woman said he exposed himself to her, grabbed her wrists and groped her. When she started to scream, Rush ran off. Police later found and arrested him.
Neighbors inside the building across from Forest Park were on high alert.
“We have a lot of safety features built into our building here, so it's unfortunate that that didn't work for this particular person, and I feel terrible that that happened to her," Lolli Haus said.
The building has an open common entrance, but you need a key or code to get into the foyer.
Cynthia Danley, CEO of the domestic violence service Safe Connections, told 5 On Your Side that sexual assaults have become more brazen and that this incident was a “crime of opportunity.”
"He (the perpetrator) said, thought, 'Here's my chance, let me get in this building,' and with her screaming, that was great because she wasn't going to go quietly or whatever he was going to do to her. She screamed," Danley said.
For Danley and the people in the Central West End, it's a reminder to stay vigilant.
"As you're getting out of your vehicle, look around and see who's hanging around just to make sure that you're as safe as possible,” Danley said.
"People are trying hard to find ways to take advantage of people and harm them, so we all just have to be extra thoughtful and careful," Haus said.
Court records showed Rush was out on bond for two weapons-related charges when he was arrested for the assault.
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