BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – A woman was sitting outside her Boynton Beach apartment in December when a stranger approached her and asked her for a cigarette. As she leaned forward to get one, the man punched her in the face, grabbed her by her hair and dragged her into the apartment, where he raped her.
The woman's attacker ran away and remained at large for more than a month, but DNA evidence from one of his sandals led police to him early Tuesday.
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Frantz Demezier, 19, was arrested on charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment and burglary with battery.
According to a Boynton Beach probable cause affidavit, Demezier told the victim during the attack that he was "gonna get that ass."
After the victim fought off her attacker, he ran off in the direction of Federal Highway. She then knocked on a neighbor's door so she could call 911.
DNA evidence found on the suspect's sandal, which was left inside the apartment during the struggle, linked Demezier to the crime, police said.
The victim "immediately picked Demezier out" from a photographic lineup.
Demezier was being held without bond at the main Palm Beach County jail.