Police Charge a Man in Connection to an Attempted Rape of a Woman Praying in Church

Middletown, NY -- Police have charged a man with connection to an attempted rape and assault a woman praying in St. Joseph's Church, according to Recordonline.com. (Recordonline.com's story)

It was Wednesday morning, says Recordonline.com, when the man walked into St. Joseph's Church in Middletown, New York. The man currently in custody goes by the name of John Michael Petry, and is currently being held on $100,000 cash bond in Orange County Jail.

The Recordonline.com website also contains a video of the surveillance footage which can be found at Recordonline.com.

The video footage shows that a man initially walks into the church and takes a seat at one of the elongated seats somewhat near the woman, but not quite next to her. Suddenly he stands up and walked towards the praying woman. Upon reaching her he stands at her side momentarily and then starts trying to grab her and the two struggle. The woman fights and uses a pen as a weapon in the struggle. The video shows the woman stabbing Petry in the neck with the pen during the struggle inside of the church. Eventually the attacker stands up and runs out of the church.

Upon leaving the church the outside video surveillance camera catches footage of the attacker running away swiftly into the darkness.

Petry, the man being charged with conection to the attempted rape and assault, was soon found. A local off-duty firefighter had seen the news and the surveillance video footage the day before, and took notice to Petry riding a bike near a liquor store. Michael Benedetto, the off-duty firefighter tried to converse with Petry. Petry, afraid, ran away from Benedetto. Knowing that this was the man in the surveillance video footage, Benedetto called police immediately and followed Petry to the spot where he was arrested, near Route 78.

According to Recordonline.com, Petry has psychological problems, and was once administered into Middletown Psychiatric Center, and has been homeless off and on for some time now. (Recordonline.com)

Some additional information from Recordonline.com also states that:

"Police said Petry was picked up nine hours after the church assault by Town of Goshen police after he complained of heart trouble. He was admitted to Arden Hill Hospital Wednesday, but later checked out." (Recordonline.com)

Petry is being held on an array of different assault charges, as well as rape charges.

Source:
Recordonline.com,"Police Arrest Man in Church Assault Case." Recordonline.com. URL: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070518/NEWS/705180371