LEE COUNTY - A Cape Coral woman telling Four in your Corner how, she says, she was drugged and raped by a Florida International University professor.
Investigators say 69 year old David Allen Ralston assaulted the woman at his South Fort Myers home at McGregor Woods and the assault was captured on video, by his own security cameras. We decided to call the woman "Tammy" and we're not showing her face in order to protect her identity.
Part of the reason Tammy is speaking out is because she feels there may be more victims out there and she hopes they come forward.
Tammy recalls the horrible ordeal that happened at Ralston's home on April 29th. She says, "I was beyond shocked and in disbelief of what he did." She says Ralston hired her to clean his home after she advertised her services on Craigslist. She tells us the nightmare began before she even started cleaning saying, "He asked me 'would you like a drink before you start working’, and I was like, ‘Yeah sure, why not?" Within 35 minutes I passed out on his back porch and he took advantage of me. He took his clothes off, he straddled across my chest."
Tammy telling us the rape happened on Ralston's back patio where his own surveillance cameras captured the assault. Tammy says, "The tape shows he freaked out because I was starting to awaken, he put his clothes back on. He went inside, put his clothes back on, came back outside and put my clothes back on and drug me into the house which is where I was for 45 minutes." Tammy then says, "I woke up feeling he had a vibrator inside my vagina and I freaked out. I tried to kick him."
Fighting for her life, Tammy says she was barely conscious. She somehow managed to break free from Ralston and run outside. With her cell phone in hand she frantically called her husband. Tammy tells Four in your Corner her husband, “Called 911, he said are you tied up? I said ‘no’ and then he said ‘run’ and I made it to the driveway and I passed out in the guy's driveway."
That's where Tammy's husband found her and rushed her home. She claims the hospital refused to do a rape kit at first but then agreed two days later. She says the results haven't come back yet. Meanwhile, Tammy hopes Ralston remains behind bars saying, "I want to see him go to prison forever because I'm sure this is not the first time he's done this to someone."
Ralston was arrested in Broward County last week. He'll soon be extradited back to Lee County where he'll be charged with the sexual assault of a helpless victim.
