In a remarkable display of courage and resourcefulness, a young woman harnesses the power of a food delivery app to escape the clutches of a notorious criminal, highlighting the potential for technology to serve as a lifeline in the face of danger.
A brave young woman of 24 used quick thinking and a food delivery app to outwit a man later identified as the “Bronx Rapist.” Despite the terrifying ordeal of being held captive and assaulted for hours, she leveraged modern technology to signal for help, demonstrating the potential life-saving use of these platforms.
We’ve all heard bone-chilling stories about the dangers lurking on dating apps, but in a cruel twist of irony, it was this very same technology that proved to be a lifeline for this New York woman. She crossed paths with the alleged serial predator, Kemoy Royal, via an online dating platform, completely unaware that she was his third target within a week. However, her encounter with this monster would spell the end of his horrific crime spree.
Reports from WABC state that the woman was detained and assaulted in a Bronx residence, but her quick thinking led to her rescue. She had the presence of mind to place a food order on Grubhub from the Chipper Truck Café on McLean Avenue in Yonkers at 5 a.m. The order itself was nothing out of the ordinary, but the note included in the additional instructions was a desperate plea for help.
The jumbled note read, “Please call police, his going to call me when u delivered come with the cones please don’t make it obvious,” News 12reported.It was clearly hastily written, saying to call the cops and have them come with the food and not make it obvious.
In a hurriedly written message, the woman requested the delivery person to call the police and accompany them with the delivery, without raising any suspicions. Alice Bermejo, the owner of Chipper Truck Cafe, recalls her worker spotting the note and promptly calling her husband, who advised them to contact the police.
“She was basically saying to bring the police with the delivery,” said Bermejo.
The distressed order originated from the Eastchester neighborhood of the Bronx. It was here that a 32-year-old man had allegedly been detaining and assaulting a 24-year-old woman against her will. The woman had only recently met the man in person after their initial online encounter when the situation escalated violently.
Stripped of her phone, her only chance to connect to the outside world was through the food ordering app. And so, she sent a message three and a half miles away, hoping for salvation.
The Bermejo family praised their worker for his quick thinking and call to action. The suspect, Kemoy Royal, opened the door expecting food, only to be greeted by the police. The 32-year-old was subsequently accused by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office of raping two women, sexually assaulting a third and strangling two of them within his apartment in Eastchester.
In the face of these horrific allegations, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark promised to pursue justice for the victims. Royal’s first recorded sex crime involved a 27-year-old woman he had met on a dating app, with allegations of forced sexual acts without her consent.
Just a day later, he allegedly lured a 26-year-old woman back to his place, where he held her captive and threatened her life, committing sexual assault, biting, and strangulation before finally letting her go in the early hours of the following day.
Despite the trauma she endured, this young woman’s courage and quick thinking brought a violent predator to justice, potentially saving countless other women from a similar fate.
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