The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a report from an Anna Maria woman who said she was sexually assaulted early Feb. 26 on the beach at Bayfront Park.
The 27-year-old woman told authorities that she was home alone in a residence near Bayfront Park on Bay Boulevard when she answered a knock on the door sometime between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. that Saturday.
Expecting that the knocker was either her boyfriend or someone seeking her mother, with whom she lives, the woman said she opened the door and encountered three men.
The woman’s mother told The Islander that the men were described as middle-aged.
The woman said she attempted to flee the men, running to the Bayfront Park beach, where she was caught, beaten and sexual assaulted.
The mother said one man held her daughter to the ground while another man sexually assaulted her. A third man stood by, according to the mother.
“She was beaten up pretty bad,” the mother said. “She has bruises, black eyes.”
Deputies found the woman on the beach after receiving a telephone call from her concerned boyfriend, who had been on his way to the house.
The initial emergency call was reported as a suspicious circumstance, according to MCSO spokesman Dave Bristow, adding that the department continues to investigate, including some inconsistencies in information.
Over the weekend, after the woman told authorities she was assaulted, an MCSO team worked at the home and on the beach, collecting any evidence.
The woman’s mother said DNA and fingerprints were collected.
She also said there is some speculation the men were looking for her because her daughter told her that when she opened the door, one of the men asked, “Where’s your mom?”
The lead investigator has been in frequent contact with the family and her daughter is involved in a counseling program, the mother said.
“But I don’t feel like this is a very safe place,” she added. “I thought I moved to a very safe place. But I don’t know if I want to stay here.”