MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis woman says things took a violent turn when she met a man after speaking with him online.
The details that were laid out in a police affidavit are disturbing. The victim describes being choked and forced inside of an abandoned unit in the 4100 block of Millbranch in Whitehaven on August 13. From there, she was hit in her face, forced upstairs and was sexually assaulted.
Police say the victim was able to make her way several blocks from the complex to a library. She stayed there until help arrived. Investigators say the victim met Nash online before they met in person.
Avram Nash is behind bars and has been charged with the disturbing assault. Those living near the neglected complex say the place is a hotbed for crime.
“That apartment building back there, it’s been on fire a couple of times. I think they should tear it down and rebuild,” resident Mary Johnson said.
Johnson says she’s called the area home for seven years, and the abandoned unit has always been an issue.
“Actually, it makes me nervous, because I have grandkids that go to school right across the street,” she said.
WREG looked into Nash’s criminal history, and it revealed that he is no stranger to police. Online records show his run-ins with the law started when he was a teenager. There have been at least four arrests for domestic assault, with some being dismissed.
In a prior case, another victim says Nash threw “a pot of boiling water” on her. Years later, a man says Nash became irate and started to strangle him when they were in an intimate relationship.
Nash is set to face a judge on Friday.
