DELAND, Fla. — A 48-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the November rape of a woman near an elementary school.
- Woman says she was attacked near school, abducted, and raped
- Rodrigo Reyes charged with kidnapping, sexual battery with weapon
The incident reportedly happened November 21, 2019 near the intersection of Parsons and Beresford avenues, near Edith Starke Elementary.
The woman says she was walking when a man forced her into his vehicle. The man then drove the woman to a secluded place in DeLand and raped her, police say. The woman, who was injured, flagged down a passerby, who called 911.
Neri Keith was born and raised nearby and says this latest incident adds to a list of crime in the area.
"I stay on this street. How do I know he’s not watching me? How do I know I’m not next?" she said.
Keith says she’s always careful, sometimes sitting in her locked vehicle to look around before going inside her home. The mother says she doesn’t let her son go outside alone and has put extra locks on her door.
"It’s scary. It’s a nasty world out here, but we should be able to walk on this street right here. And I pray the lady is OK," she said.
On January 21, 2020, DeLane Police detectives said they'd arrested 48-year-old Rodrigo Reyes. He's charged with kidnapping and sexual battery with a deadly weapon and being held without bond at the Volusia County Jail.
No other details were released.
Police think he may have approached or even attacked other women, but the incidents have gone unreported.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact detectives at 386-626-7426 or email ramkissoonk@deland.org.
