Bensalem home invasion, sexual assault victim speaks out

Bensalem, Pa. (WTXF) - Police are investigating a home invasion and sex assault in Bensalem.

"He was holding me; had his arms around me so that I could not move."

For this single mother it was the fight of her life and a fight to protect her 10-year-old daughter. It took everything she had to ward off a man police say broke into her condo early Saturday morning and sexually assaulted the woman.

"My daughter woke up, made a sound that frightened him enough started him so I could get some leverage and was able to push him to get him out the door," she told FOX 29.

The victim, who asked us to conceal her identity, was awakened just after 5 a.m. that's when she saw a strange man in her home at the Lafayette Garden Condominiums.

"I was fighting to make sure my daughter was safe," she explained. "That was my only thought. Everything was pure instinct."

"I'm sorry for her and her family, scary. Daughter was home, too. Very scary," a neighbor said .

Neighbors worried for their own safety after the attack. Police did recover surveillance video of the man they believe is the suspect in the home invasion from a Sunoco food mart just across the Poquessing Creek from the condo complex.

"If you've seen him before, if you know him, please call the police, call the news. Just let people know," the victim said.

"To have it this close to home is pretty scary," said Celeste Hutchinson.

Hutchinson lives just around the corner from the crime scene with her teenage daughter. The home invasion and the violent attack had her very concerned.

"It's pretty scary because we're right next to Philadelphia and I have a young child, a female. So it's pretty scary when something like that happens in the area."

Police say the suspect may be a homeless man who frequents the area near the attack. No word on whether the suspect stole anything from the home. Philadelphia police have circulated the suspect's photo to officers on the street to be on the look out for him.

The victim was struck in the head and suffered several bumps and bruises. Her 10-year-old daughter was not injured.