Posted on February 25, 2015

Woman, 93, Sexually Assaulted in Her Own Apartment by Intruder

Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel, February 24, 2015

A legally blind 93-year-old woman was able to pull an alarm and summon help from neighbors as a stranger battered and then sexually assaulted her in her apartment, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

About 2:30 a.m. Monday, the woman had taken trash to the receptacle at the end of her hall and was surprised by Clyde Alvims Leandre, 22, of Delray Beach, according to Detective Ian Kuechler.

Clyde Leandre

Clyde Leandre

The incident happened in the Highland Gardens apartments at 331 Northeast 48th St. Each apartment has cords near beds and toilets that activate an emergency alarm as well as a hallway light outside a tenant’s door.

“In her condition, with sight issues and she is technically, legally blind, she knew where to reach for that cord when she was forced upon that bed,” Kuechler said during a press conference Monday at the Broward Sheriff’s headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.

The alarm, her cries for help as well as the light drew the attention of three neighbors who entered the apartment through its unlocked front door, Kuechler wrote in his report.

“Initially some of the other residents of the building attempted to subdue the subject,” the detective said. “However, they basically explained that he seemed to have about the strength of 10 men and was oblivious to them being in the room. He continued to grasp on to the female victim and restrained her in her bedroom.”

Four deputies responded to a 911 call and also tried to remove Leandre, who was not wearing pants, according to the detective’s report.

“He ignored their commands and he was tased,” Kuechler said. “It had zero affect on him. They issued several strikes to him, again. It took four men to remove him.”

Two deputies’ hands were hurt and they were treated at Broward Health North and released. Leandre and the victim were admitted to the same hospital. The woman’s back was injured during the incident and she was severely bruised, Kuechler said.

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Leandre faces charges of burglary with assault or battery; sexual assault with a weapon; false imprisonment and resisting an officer without violence, the sheriff’s office said.

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