Woman escapes sexual assault by 'biting off attacker's tongue'
The injury helped police identify the alleged attacker
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman narrowly escaped a horrific sexual assault by "biting off her attacker’s tongue", causing an injury which helped police identify the suspected teenage assailant.
The 33-year-old victim told investigators her attacker knocked on the door of her home in North Charleston, South Carolina, armed with a knife, at around 6:30am on Friday morning.
The assailant allegedly chased the woman into her house, tackled her and punched her saying: “Stop fighting and I won’t hurt you.” He then carried her to the bedroom and attempted to remove her shorts, according to reports seen by the Huffington Post.
The woman retaliated, kicking the assailant in the groin, after which he allegedly he said: “Now you have to die!” and forced his tongue into her mouth.
The woman told officers she “bit his tongue as hard as she could until she herd it snap.” She later escaped to a near-by petrol station and called police.
When police arrived at the scene they found the woman’s face bruised and swollen, according to Live 5 News. She also had scratches on her knee and foot.
During their search for the suspect, police received some unexpected help when reports came through the officer's car radio that a North Charleston woman had called emergency services for her son, who was missing his tongue, according to NBC News 2.
David Cheatle, deputy chief of the North Charleston Police Department, identified the suspected attacker as 16-year-old Antoine Miller, after he was found at a nearby fast-food restaurant.
Miller was later charged as an adult for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and first-degree kidnapping, according to Live 5 News.
It remains unclear whether doctors were able to save the tongue, which police found in the victim's kitchen.
The attack has received national attention, due to the woman's remarkable method of self-defence.
"Warrior not victim! Victor not victim!!" Jennifer Leigh Jones-Wood, a Charleston resident, wrote on the Live 5 News website.
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