Good Samaritan Rescues Woman From Potentially Being Raped In East Austin

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Police jailed a man with a charge of aggravated kidnapping after being accused of grabbing a woman off an East Austin street in broad daylight with the intent of raping her, according to media reports.

Citing an arrest affidavit, KVUE reported that Javier Cervantes, 35, accosted a woman near Airport Boulevard near Oak Springs Drive on Jan. 9 and repeatedly asked for her telephone number. Feeling uneasy, the woman pulled out her pepper spray from her purse to have it at the ready as Cervantes got closer.

After the woman threatened to call police, Cervantes is said to have cursed while saying he wasn't afraid of law enforcement before grabbing her from behind and trying to drag her to a nearby wooded area.

A Good Samaritan emerged in the form of an employee at a nearby pawn shop, holding Cervantes down until police arrived, according to the affidavit. Once police arrived to detain him, Carvantes is said to have confessed to trying to rape the woman, telling police the devil made him do it, according to the affidavit.

Cervantes was booked into the Travis County Jail with a bond set at $75,000.

>>> Read the full story at KVUE

Cervantes booking photo via Austin Police Department