A 17-year-old Bridgeport, Conn., teen claims that a 38-year-old woman whom she didn't know offered her a ride to school on a brisk morning last week. The teen accepted the offer, and once she was inside the car, the teen claims, the woman sexually assaulted her. Fearing for her safety, the teen reportedly dived from the woman's moving car.
On Saturday, police arrested Towanna Randall, and on Tuesday, Randall appeared in court to face charges of sexual assault, unlawful restraint and reckless endangerment, NBC New York reports.
Arresting documents viewed by NBC New York claim that Randall told the teen she was only 20 years old and then touched the 17-year-old's breast. After the teen jumped from Randall's Toyota Tercel, Randall reportedly made a U-turn, laughed at the teen and sped off.
Security footage released by police shows the teen jumping from the car around 7:15 a.m. Oct. 5. The Daily News notes that the teen suffered some bumps and bruises in her fall but was not taken to the hospital.
NBC New York notes that Randall is no stranger to the criminal-justice system, since she has 15 prior convictions, including "burglary, larceny and selling drugs."
Randall claims that she did offer the teen a ride and that she caught the teen taking a few dollars that she had lying in the drink holder.
"I grabbed her hair because I wanted my money back," Randall told police, according to the police report. "That's just a normal reaction from anybody." She claims that the teen jumped from the car in an attempt to get away with the money.
Randall did not enter a plea, and her bail was set at $125,000.
Read more at NBC New York.