Miami Police Release Surveillance Footage Of Sexual Assault Suspect

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – As the search continues for a suspected rapist, a woman who managed to fight him off is speaking about her frightening ordeal.

"This has never happened to me and I've been living here 14 years already so this is very traumatic," said the 29-year-old woman, who does not want to be identified.

The victim says she is now afraid to leave her Little Haiti home after the suspect tried to kidnap her at her home.

She says it all began when the suspect, identified by police as 34-year-old Tavares Canty, came in her backyard and knocked on her backdoor.

"I was at home in the morning getting ready for work and this guy came from the back and he talked to me and told me my neighbor wanted to talk to me about something," said the victim.

Surveillance cameras were rolling Thursday morning around 7 a.m. when the victim went to the front to check and see which neighbor wanted to speak with her.  That's when the suspect creeped up on her.

"He just pushed me inside the house," said the victim.  "I was lucky because when he tried to close the door, that's when I managed to escape."

She says she ran out to the street screaming for help but there was no one around.  "I tried to come back and I was trying to close the door," she said.

Because of a previous auto accident injury, she had a hard time locking the door and the suspect saw his second opportunity.  But she fought him off again, pushing the door and getting away a second time.  The suspect casually walked away and the victim called police and showed them exactly who they were looking for.

"I have the video and they have it from the first moment.  The thing is he came from my house to the other house between an hour," said the victim.

One hour after her frightening confrontation City of Miami Police say Canty raped a woman a few blocks away.  The victim's stepmother says the victim's newborn son was in the same room and two other children were in the home when the attack took place.

Police released surveillance video last week describing Canty as thinly-built muscular black male last seen wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt, dark shoes, jeans and a baseball cap.

"Be very, very careful.  Now until they catch him. I was very, very lucky," she said.

Canty is believed to be armed and dangerous.  Records show he has a long criminal history and has served time in jail.

If you have any information, contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

There's a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to his arrest.