HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been arrested after being accused of sexually battering an elderly woman walking in her neighborhood, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Friday at a news conference.
Ron Smith, also known as Stephen Smith, reportedly approached the woman from behind and placed his hand over her mouth.
The woman "immediately found it difficult to breathe," the sheriff explains. She was then forced to the ground.
"[Smith's] intentions were to [sexually batter] this individual," Chronister said.
Crime scene investigators and detectives used science technology and "good ole fashion police work" to identify the 42-year-old man, who was reportedly already under arrest by the Tampa Police Department.
Tampa police arrested Smith for "physically attacking a female during a purse snatching," the sheriff said.
"We were worried, extremely worried..." he explained. "We didn't want one more female in our community to be sexually battered by this individual."
Smith is said to have a history of crime in Texas and Pennsylvania, where a sample of his DNA was collected to use for the sexual battery case.
"This bad guy is just where he belongs — in jail," Chronister said. "And we'll do everything we can to make sure that's exactly where he remains."
According to the sheriff's office, at around 9 a.m. on Nov. 27, a woman was walking in the area of Celestial Oaks Drive and N. Central Avenue when she was approached by Smith.
The sheriff's office says he asked for money and cigarettes, and after giving him neither, he proceeded to shove the woman to the ground. Law enforcement says that's when he attempted to sexually batter her.
"During the attack, the suspect stated he had a knife, leaving the victim in fear for her life," Chronister said in an earlier statement. "His behavior was clearly escalating during this entire encounter."
Smith is charged with armed false imprisonment, robbery with a deadly weapon and sexual battery with a deadly weapon.