WINTER HAVEN, Fla — A composite sketch helped detectives identify a man accused of attacking a woman last month in a Winter Haven park, the Winter Haven Police Department said.
The connection to this case started on Sunday when police arrested Frederick Duchin, 58, on an unrelated drug charge. Police said when officers were searching Duchin's possessions, they found a box cutter in his pocket.
Officers also said they noticed Duchin, who police say is homeless, looked a lot like the man in a composite sketch completed by a woman who says she was attacked on Aug. 27 in Trailhead Park.
The attack happened around 11 p.m. The woman was at the park feeding cats in the area as she normally does, police said in a previous release.
As she was walking back to her car, the woman told police she was approached by a man "who placed something against her back as he pushed her against" her car.
Police said that's when he started cutting off her shirt and physically attacking her before walking away while reportedly laughing.
Duchin's resemblance to the man in the sketch prompted detectives to go to the Central County Jail where he was being held on the drug charge and speak with him. Detectives said Duchin admitted during the interview he saw the woman at the park two different times.
The woman had told investigators she saw her attacker at least one time before the attack when she was feeding the cats. She told police he asked her for help over to a bench because he couldn't see.
Detectives then got a photo array together and the woman positively identified Duchin as her attacker. As a result, Duchin was charged with armed sexual battery.