CLAYTON, Mo. — The courage of a victim and the intolerance of a community unwilling to hide a suspected predator among them led to the arrest of a man suspected of sexual assault, police say.
Clayton police got the tip that led them to Jose Luis Gomez-Velasquez just seven hours after the department released surveillance images of him Thursday, according to Cpl. Jenny Schwartz.
He’s now charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, sexual abuse, assault and sodomy.
“I can’t imagine the fear she was facing,” Schwartz said.
Police say it began in the middle of the afternoon Aug. 30 when the suspect saw the victim walking in a Richmond Heights neighborhood. Police say the suspect took the victim by the hand and led her to a gas station even though she was saying, “no go, no go,” according to court documents.
Cameras at the gas station captured images of Gomez-Velasquez with the victim. Clayton police released them to the media, and someone called to say the man worked at an IHOP along Watson Road in south St. Louis.
Coworkers there then identified him, and police arrested him at an apartment in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, according to police. He had dyed his hair blonde when he was arrested.
“To have those clear images helped make this case and helped break it very quickly,” Schwartz said.
Investigators were able to comb through hours of surveillance videos from the gas station and identify the suspect because of the detailed description the victim gave, which included tattoos on his neck and chest, Schwartz said.
Police say the sexual assault happened in Oak Knoll Park – just across the street from the gas station. The victim told police her attacker hit her and strangled her.
When he walked away from her, she walked to an urgent care center near the gas station. Staff there called police, Schwartz said.
“She was horribly physically assaulted, and I can only speculate what was going on in her mind and the mental strength and the emotional strength that it took for her to survive this,” Schwartz said. “She still has so much to go through moving forward.
“But we know that she has family, she has our support, and she'll have the support of the justice system behind her as well.”
Schwartz says police have no evidence to suggest there could be other victims, but they can’t rule it out either.
“If anyone thinks they have any information that can contribute to our investigation or additional crimes, anything of that nature, please contact us,” she said.
A detention hearing for Gomez-Velasquez Friday had to be continued until next week because he told the court he does not speak English and needs an interpreter. He will remain behind bars until that hearing, and a judge will decide whether he should be released on bond.
If you have any information about this case, contact Clayton police at 314-290-8425.