Neighbors Come To Aid Of Sex Assault Victim

A man has been arrested, accused of fondling a 12-year-old girl.

Colorado Springs police said 37-year-old Guylyn Patrick attempted to carry the girl back to his apartment when a neighbor confronted him. Officers said Guylyn then dropped the girl and threatened the neighbor with a hammer.

When officers arrived at the Cedar Ridge apartment complex on South Chelton Road, they said 15 to 20 neighbors had surrounded Patrick’s apartment to prevent him from escaping before police could arrive.

“The neighbors in this circumstance are the ones who probably prevented this from getting worse. Their interactions, their willingness to get involved is what made this a very successful case for the police department to be able to go and make an arrest and have a pretty solid case for prosecution,” said Sgt. Darrin Abbink.

Patrick was arrested and is facing charges of second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault on a child and felony menacing.

He is due to appear in court at Thursday afternoon.