Woman Held Hostage, Allegedly Raped Sends Message For Help Through Food Delivery App

New York -- A 24-year-old woman used a food delivery app to send out a desperate plea for help from a New York home, where she was held hostage and allegedly raped.

The message led to the woman’s rescue, and a 32-year-old man was arrested for holding her against her will.

The victim had chatted with the man online a few months ago and was meeting him for the first time in person when the incident took place. The suspect, identified as Kemoy Royal, is accused of sexually assaulting the woman and raping her at a Bronx residence, according to ABC7NY.

Royal also took away her phone and only gave it to her to order food. The woman used the Grubhub app to place an order for a breakfast sandwich and a burger from a restaurant called the Chipper Truck Café at 5 a.m. Sunday.

Under additional instructions for the restaurant, the woman left a note asking the restaurant to call the cops.

“Please call the police … please don’t make it obvious,” the message said.

The woman’s hastily-written message was seen by an employee at the restaurant, located about three and a half miles away from where she was being held.

Alice Bermejo, who owns the restaurant with her husband, said the employee called and asked what they should do about the message.

“They called my husband, said 'what should we do,' and he was like, 'call the police, can't take any risks, better be safe than sorry,'" she told the outlet.

Bermejo said they didn’t know whether the message was real.

"It was just a waiting game to see what happened. We didn't know if it was real or fake," Bermejo told CNN.

NYPD was informed of the message and arrived at the address. The suspect opened the door to find cops instead of the food delivery he was expecting.

Royal was arrested at the scene and is facing charges that include rape, unlawful imprisonment, strangulation, criminal sex act and sexual abuse, among other counts.

The man was also charged with sexually assaulting another woman days before. The previous incident was reported on June 15, a day after the young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted at Royal's home. It is unclear why he was not arrested for the incident.

He now faces charges for both incidents. Bermejo said she is glad the woman was rescued and is safe.

"We're just grateful that the girl is okay. That is the most important thing," Bermejo told CNN.

Grubhub announced Wednesday that they were offering $5,000 to the restaurant owners for their role in the woman’s rescue.

"Every time we see a simple but extraordinary act like this, we are amazed by how our partners positively impact their communities," Grubhub said in a statement. "However they decide to use the money, we hope it helps the restaurant and reminds all of their customers of what amazing people (they) are."

Bermejo said the money will “definitely go to good use” and added, “For them to call us and thank us was a big enough deal for us. We're very grateful to them…”