Schoolgirl's terror: ‘Daddy come home. Some guy tried to rape me’
A 13-year-old old girl has told of the terrifying moment she fought off an alleged would-be-rapist who followed her home from school.
Home surveillance video has emerged showing the man stalking the young girl as she walks to her front door in San Jose, California on Tuesday.
The teenager, who wishes to remain anonymous, told ABC News in the US she became alarmed when the man started asking her inappropriate questions about her age.
“That's when I decided to run inside the house because I'd already unlocked it,” she told the TV station.
“I tried to slam the door on him but I couldn't.”
The attacker only fled when the girl slapped him in the face.
She then ran upstairs and hid in a closet, from where she texted her father and said: “Daddy come home now. Some guy tried to rape me.”
Police launched a major manhunt for the suspect and on Saturday arrested a man identified as Mohammed Khaliqi in San Leandro.
He faces multiple charges including burglary, attempted sexual assault and false imprisonment.
The young girl said she was shaken by the incident but relieved she was unharmed.
“I'm really happy I'm safe, but I'm still really scared,” she told ABC News.
“I'm really low on trusting the outside world anymore.”
Morning news break – May 10
