Hamtramck: Teenage girl rescued from registered sex offender after petrol station attendant saw cry for help
A 16-year-old girl has been dramatically rescued from a registered sex offender after a keen-eyed petrol station attendant noticed her mouthing a chilling word to him.
A 16-year-old girl has been dramatically rescued from a registered sex offender after a keen-eyed petrol station attendant noticed her mouthing the word “help” to him.
Police allege that Donald Fields snatched the young girl at gunpoint in front of a friend on April 13 while she was waiting for her school bus in Hamtramck, near Detroit in the US.
He allegedly sexually assaulted her in the back of a van before driving her to a petrol station, where he forced her inside and told her to buy cigarettes.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The girl’s friend raised the alarm with the school bus driver, who called 911.
The friend then helped police by tracking her location on her phone.
Officers swooped on the service station as soon as they realised she was there.
Meanwhile, the attendant, Abdulrahman Abohatem, realised something was wrong when the girl mouthed the word “help” to him.
“When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go, there’s something wrong. And she mouth-talked to me, like with no sound, ‘help,’” Mr Abohatem told WXYZ TV.
He walked out from behind the protective glass and ushered the girl to safety while ordering Fields to leave.
“I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl go behind me,” Mr Abohatem said.
“I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is (a) child.”
Fields was outside the petrol station when police arrived minutes later.
He was arrested and remains in custody.
Hamtramck Police Chief Hussein Farhat praised the “heroic” actions of the attendant.
“I believe this could have gone a lot worse than it did,” he said.
“We have every belief that this could have ended really badly if it wasn’t for the two witnesses as well as the officers’ ability to be there.”
Fields has been charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person as well as felonious assault and five counts of felony firearm.
