A man from Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested on January 28 for sexually assaulting a woman who was on a run. According to reports, 27-year-old Steven Ryan Michael threw the woman to the ground after coming up behind her. She had been running on the Skunk Creek Trail near Peoria, Arizona.
Police reported that the victim aggressively fought Michael, punching him and kicking him in the groin. She escaped and ran away. She didn’t have a phone, so her husband was able to call 911 when she arrived at her home.
Police found Michael near where the incident occurred. He attempted to run from the officers but was eventually arrested. He provided the officers with false information, claiming he took a bus to the area to go hiking, but he wasn’t wearing hiking clothes. The officers took him to jail on counts of sexual abuse, attempted sexual assault, aggravated assault, and kidnapping.
“I can’t even imagine going through what she already had to go through just to get him off of her but the fact that she escaped, it’s a miracle, and it’s a blessing that she was able to get away,” Mackenzie Ridgeway, a resident of Peoria, told Fox 10 Phoenix. “People like that shouldn’t be walking around and doing that. Justice needs to be served for people that are victimized like that. They should not be out here roaming around free.”
Chris Hatler is the Deputy Editor of Esquire. He previously served as the Senior Editor of Men’s Journal and Features Editor of Popular Mechanics.
