Suspect accused of sexually assaulting, beating vacationing woman in Mississippi public restroom

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) - An Oklahoma woman visiting her family in southern Mississippi is in the hospital recovering after police said she was brutally assaulted at a shopping center.

WLOX reports 28-year-old Andrew Malik Jones was charged with robbery and sexual battery after Gulfport Police Department investigators said he waited inside a restroom at an outlet mall for a victim to enter.

The victim told police Jones pushed her into a stall before he assaulted and raped her after she entered the restroom.

Investigators said Jones took the victim’s purse before trying to leave the scene. The victim’s husband told WLOX that he and others stopped Jones before he was able to get away.

The victim’s husband said his wife suffered serious injuries, including a fractured skull. She was taken to a hospital in New Orleans.

The vacationing Oklahoma couple was in Mississippi along with their young daughter.

Jones is being held in the Harrison County Jail awaiting his first court appearance. His bond was set at $500,000 for each charge.

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