A Lauderdale Lakes man is accused of breaking down the bedroom door of an elderly woman and trying to rape her, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman, in her late 70s, lived in the 2000 block of Northwest 39th Way in Lauderdale Lakes. On Dec. 26 she saw a stranger in her home and after locking her bedroom door, began to pray.
Jarvis Wyndell Petty, 25, of Lauderdale Lakes, is accused of breaking the door of the woman’s bedroom. He chased her into the living room, choking and licking her as he tried to pull off her underwear, according to an arrest warrant.
The attack stopped when a grandchild’s friend walked into the house and Petty ran away, the report said.
Deputies took the woman to a rape treatment center and evidence was swabbed from her body in places where Petty had placed his mouth, according to the report.
In March, a crime lab linked DNA recovered from the evidence to Petty and led to his arrest, the report said.
Jarvis is facing charges of attempted sexual battery; occupied burglary with a battery and lewd or lascivious molestation of an elderly person. He was also charged with violating probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
During a court hearing Friday, Assistant Public Defender Austyn Sanders told Broward County Judge Jackie Powell that Jarvis’ probation had recently ended.
But Prosecutor Eric Linder pointed out that Jarvis was on probation at the time of the alleged assault.
“The circumstances surrounding this arrest does cause great concern for the community,” Powell said before ordering Jarvis held without bond.
ljtrischitta@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta
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