Elderly woman raped for three days after ‘kind’ stranger offered to carry her groceries

Elderly woman raped for three days after ‘kind’ stranger offered to carry her groceries

A stranger offered to carry an elderly woman’s groceries before barricading her inside her Oregon home and repeatedly raping her for three days over Christmas. 

Kenneth Gregory Williams, 69, was arrested after he allegedly approached the 74-year-old woman as she was returning home from the grocery store and offered to carry her bags back to her downtown Portland home on December 23. 

After returning to her home, he held her against her will and sexually assaulted her over the course of the three days surrounding Christmas. 

“These cases are incredibly rare but of course they can happen,” Portland Police Department spokesman Mike Benner told Fox 12 News. 

“We can’t imagine what this woman went through. It’s horrifying, terrifying, you name it.” 

The unidentified woman got off of public transportation at 9th Avenue and was heading home from the grocery store when she had to stop and rest from the weight of the bags. 

A “nice” stranger, who detectives later identified as Williams, offered to help her carry her bags the rest of the way. 

Though reluctant at first, the woman agreed to the seemingly kind gesture – unaware that it would lead to a three-day nightmare. 

Once inside the home, Williams allegedly blocked the door off from the inside and prevented her from leaving.  

The woman told authorities that over the span of the next three days, from December 23 to December 25, she was repeatedly raped by Williams. 

She was able to convince him to leave her home on December 26, when she sought immediate medical treatment at a local hospital. 

Portland officers located Williams on January 5 and booked him into the Multnomah County jail on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping and three counts of first-degree rape. 

The barbaric incident led to fear among community members, especially those who stroll through downtown Portland alone. 

Authorities are also investigating Williams on allegations of an unrelated rape. 

Additionally, detectives believe that there may be even more unreported cases involving the 69-year-old man  – prompting them to publicly release his mugshot. 

They are urging anyone who may have been a victim or those with any additional information on Williams to contact Detective Michael Bledsoe. 

Williams appeared in Multnomah County Circuit Court on accusations of attacking the elderly woman on Monday and pled not guilty to all counts.  

Williams is set to be arraigned on the indictment on January 14. 

“This is a case where this man had bad intentions and he took advantage of a woman who simply wanted help,” Benner told Fox 12. 

The December incident isn’t the first time Williams has run into issues with the law. 

According to court records, he was previously arrested in June of 2014 for misdemeanour harassment and menacing, Fox 12 reported. 

In 2008, he was arrested again for coercion and tampering with a witness. 

Additionally, Williams had multiple drug-related, robbery and/or misdemeanour crime arrests between the years of 1994 and 2008.