Investigators are searching for an unknown male who brandished a gun, took control of a female victim’s car and forced her to perform sexual acts.
The female victim is recovering from the attack, Starkville Police Department Capt. Troy Outlaw said. The victim was released from an area hospital following the incident.
The attacker allegedly solicited the victim on Backpage.com, a worldwide classified listing site akin to Craigslist, to meet him in Starkville for sex, an SPD release states. After the victim met the suspect at an undisclosed location, he allegedly pulled a weapon and began his attack.
The victim escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle. The suspect drove off in her car. The vehicle was later discovered abandoned at an undisclosed Starkville location.
Outlaw said the victim was able to escape relatively quickly after the attack began.
SPD did not release any other details, including a description of the suspect.
“We really don’t have a clue as to what happened after he (abandoned the car),” Outlaw said, “but we’re following up with leads.”
Backpage lists categories for dating and adult services, including escorts, body rubs, strippers and adult entertainment jobs, and features both men and women targeting clients for work that, with some activities, run up to hundreds of dollars per hour.
The website’s terms of use ask people to refrain from posting direct or coded solicitation for “any illegal service exchanging sexual favors for money or other valuable consideration.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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