too Bad this lady didn’t have a self defense weapon behind the desk……..

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http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/1003/23clerk.html

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 10/23/03 ]

Night clerk attacked at Peachtree City motel

By CHANDLER BROWN and ADD SEYMOUR JR.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sketch of a suspect in the rape and burning of a night clerk at the Hampton Inn in Peachtree City.

Peachtree City, the Fayette County community 35 miles south of downtown Atlanta, is known for good schools, golf carts and a low crime rate.

“This is a place where you leave your doors open at night,” said Cindy Clark, a Peachtree City mother of two.

That sense of tranquility was shattered Wednesday when a man walked into a Hampton Inn near the busy intersection of Ga. 74 and Ga. 54 shortly after midnight and demanded money from the night clerk, who was working alone in an office off the lobby, Peachtree City Police Chief Jim Murray said.

The man forced her to the floor and sexually assaulted her, Murray said. The suspect tied the woman to an air conditioner, sprayed rodent repellent and cleaning supplies on the office and woman and set afire her shirt and parts of the room, Murray said.

After the suspect ran out of the motel and sped away in a compact car with a loud exhaust system, the victim yelled for help, police said. About 12:30 a.m., a hotel guest called 911.

The woman, in her 50s, was taken to the Grady Memorial Hospital burn unit in Atlanta and treated for second- and third-degree burns to her back, Murray said. Police said she was in stable condition.

Murray said police have followed “some good leads” but don’t know if the suspect is still in metro Atlanta. “My biggest fear is that he may do this again,” Murray said.

The woman spent much of Wednesday with a Georgia Bureau of Investigation sketch artist. The drawing shows a white male in his mid-20s, 5 feet 7 inches tall, with short brown hair.

Police would not say whether the suspect made off with any money. Murray said the victim told the suspect the hotel had no surveillance cameras. Fire damage appeared to be limited to the motel’s lobby and office. Water from the hotel’s sprinkler system made it difficult to collect evidence, Murray said.

The city and the motel’s management company each are offering $15,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. The motel is expected to reopen in two to three days, said Sal Shahriar, vice president of operations for Hersha Hospitality, which manages the Hampton Inn.

The incident surprised many residents. Street crime is rare, and golf cart thefts exceed car thefts. Peachtree City has recorded three murders in its 44-year history and six rapes since 1996.

“It’s so safe,” said Karmen Hardnett, a 39-year-old resident of nearby Fayetteville who works at a bank in Peachtree City. Hardnett decided to work in Peachtree City after tiring of regularly witnessing criminal activity in Fulton County. “It’s to the point of where I don’t even lock my [car] door. It’s a safe haven.”

Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown said authorities will put every available law enforcement official on the case. The city of 34,000 people has 54 sworn officers.

“We’re just not tolerating this activity,” he said. “We’re not going to stand for it.”

But Clark said the damage already has been done.

“It will probably change the way of life in Peachtree City for a long time,” she said.

(hopefully , the change that will be made is that the residents of peachtree City will realize that violent crime CAN happen ANYWHERE! )