A woman, 24, who is a German national visiting Punta Gorda, escaped being raped by a man who attacked her while she was swimming in the sea. The man tried to hold her down and take off her bathing clothes, but she struggled and escaped from him.

The woman told police that about 4:15 p.m. Sunday evening, she went for a swim in the sea off the wharf in the Front Street area of Punta Gorda, but upon approaching the area she noticed that a man was in the water.

She went in, nevertheless, and began to swim. She reported that when she was coming out of the water onto the wharf, the man suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back into the water, and tried to take off her clothes.

The woman fought hard, however, and the man then ran from the area. The woman then went to the police and made a formal report.

Police have since begun an investigation into the matter.