Man Rapes Paralyzed Elderly Woman For Hours, Victim Says Prayer Saved Her Life

Police have arrested a 28-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting two women -- one of whom was an elderly paraplegic in a Fontana, California neighborhood. The 58-year-old disabled woman, who is a mother and grandmother, said she “prayed to God during the attack and that saved her life.”

The suspect, Raul Christopher Alzaga, was arrested in the neighboring city of Pomona on Wednesday, the Fontana Police Department said in a statement.

According to an earlier release by the department, Alzaga had broken into a disabled elderly woman's home in the 7800 block of Juniper Avenue on Monday by removing screens from a window and forcing his way into the victim's room, where he sexually assaulted her for hours.

Police said that before attacking the disabled woman, Alzaga had entered another residence in the same block and sexually assaulted another woman, but he was driven off by a family member.

"He actually entered another victim's house through an open door, that victim screamed and then a family member scared him off, and then shortly after he entered that second victim's house where he committed that violent assault," Fontana police public information officer Kevin Anderson was quoted as saying by KSAZ-TV.

The disabled victim -- paralyzed from the waist down -- allegedly prayed out loud during the break-in, telling Alzaga, "I'm praying for you, God loves you," KSAZ-TV reported.

The victim and her daughter believe that she wasn’t killed because she prayed during the attack. "She was able to survive this attack by praying, by speaking to this individual words of prayer. And that's why she is alive with us today," the woman’s daughter stated.

Alzaga, a documented gang member on felony probation, allegedly tried to cut off his own throat upon his capture by police.

"He took out a knife on his person. He started to cut his own throat while officers are trying apprehend him," Anderson said. He is now recovering in a hospital and is facing multiple charges.

If given a chance to speak with her mother's assailant, the daughter said she would tell him: "Thank you for not killing my mom. God loves you, repent for your sins. Don't ever hurt anybody like this again.”

The disabled victim's family has launched a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise enough money to move her to a new home as she does not feel safe living in her current one anymore after the attack. The family has so far raised close to $12,000.