Cornell Leroy Hampton, 38, was charged with the sexual assault of a former female Saint Louis University student on Feb. 3. Hampton abducted the victim after helping her remove her car from a snow bank at Lindell and Newstead.
He demanded that the victim give him a ride in her vehicle by locking her in a choke hold and indicating that he carried weapons, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said. Hampton took the victim to an abandoned building on the 4100 block of Delmar where witnesses reportedly saw him drag the female inside and heard her screaming. The witnesses immediately notified the SLMPD.
The SLMPD arrived catching Hampton in the act. Hampton resisted arrest by kicking a police officer, but was taken into custody and is being held in prison with a $300,000 cash-only bail. Investigators presented the case to prosecutors in the Circuit Attorney’s Office on Feb. 4 and a total of 11 warrants were issued: Forcible Rape, 4 counts of Forcible Sodomy, 1st Degree Assault, Resisting Arrest, Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, 2 counts of 3rd Degree Assault.
The victim, 23, was taken to the hospital where she was treated for sexual assault and minor injuries to her face, neck and chest. Roland Corvington, Director of Public Safety and Security Services at the University, said the victim graduated from SLU in 2009.
“The [Metropolitan Police] Department strongly commends those citizens whose attentiveness and awareness led them to call police, ultimately leading to the rescue of this victim,” the police report said.
