Victim of Marietta rape, kidnapping speaks out

MARIETTA, Ga. - Two weeks after she was kidnapped and repeatedly sexually assaulted, the victim spoke out about the terrifying encounter.

She said she was held captive for eight hours until she escaped her kidnapper and barricaded herself in a gas station bathroom.

The woman, who FOX 5 News is not naming or showing on camera, said for those eight hours she was held captive, she thought about nothing except the need to survive. The 52-year-old Marietta woman worked and managed to provide for herself and met some really good people along the way, but that fateful morning when she said a man, who police identified as Andrew Head, kidnapped her, has changed her life forever.

She said it was around 2 a.m. She was behind the Atlanta Mission Thrift Store on Roswell Road dumpster diving.

"All the sudden this guy jumped on me, on my back, and put his one hand over my mouth and one hand cup my face and just said 'Don't scream. Don't say anything.' And I was like, 'Please don't hurt me, I swear I'm a good person.' That's what I kept on saying," the woman told FOX 5's Patty Pan.

She said after driving around a bit, he sexually assaulted her in the back of her van. They continued driving, making short stops, but never, ever got out of the van. She said during those hours, he repeatedly assaulted her.

"He just started talking just like he knew me or something, you know. And was like 'I'm so sorry that this happened.' You know, it's going to change you for the rest of your life. You're not going to be able to go to the dumpsters anymore," she said.

The woman said at one point, she realized the sun was coming up and hoped he would let her go, but she quickly realized he wasn't going let that happen. She said she kept telling Head they needed gas and that's when she said she saw her opportunity. But he warned her to act like they were married.

"Walked in arm in arm, and he asked the attendant if I could use the restroom, 'Can my wife use the restroom?' The attendant said yeah, so I went back to the restroom and I shut the door and I locked it. And I knew then there was no way I was going to go out," the woman recounted.

After authorities were alerted, they said Head took off, driving the victim's van into oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road. Investigators said he eventually stopped on South Cobb Drive between Fairground Street and Atlanta Road after crashing into another car.

The victim said since the incident, she has been homeless and without her van, which was severely damaged in the crash.

Head, 27, made his first appearance last week on multiple charges including robbery by force, kidnapping, rape, fleeing /attempting to elude, improper lane changes, and aggravated assault on an officer. At the hearing, Head claimed he didn't rape the woman because it was consensual. Ahead of his hearing, he was seen giving the camera the middle finger.

Head continued to be held without bond Thursday.