Raheem Felder Charged With Point Breeze Rape and Robbery
It has been two weeks since a 35-year-old woman was raped in her Point Breeze home by a masked man, and now 32-year-old Raheem Felder has been charged with the crime.
On Monday, May 25th, around 5:30 a.m., the woman awoke in her bedroom on the 1800 block of South Rosewood Street to find a man she didn’t know standing over her. The man demanded money and raped her, say police, and then he left with $10 in cash, her car and house keys, and identification. Her masked attacker was later caught unmasked on surveillance video, and the city announced a $10,000 reward.
Later that week, police received an anonymous tip identifying Felder after someone recognized him from the surveillance video that had been released. Investigators searched the Point Breeze home belonging to Felder’s mother and reportedly retrieved evidence tying him to the crime, including a pair of red gloves used during the assault. Felder’s mother took to TV to plead with her son to surrender, and he was apprehended.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office has now charged Felder with rape, robbery, burglary and sexual assault, among other charges. He has also been charged with attempted rape and other offenses stemming from an attack in Point Breeze on March 26th. In that assault, he allegedly tried to strangle the victim before fleeing. Bail has been set in each case at $1 million.
Felder is no stranger to the criminal justice system. In 2002, he was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault and possessing an instrument of crime. In that incident, Felder attempted to rob a man at an ATM, the man tried to resist, and so Felder shot him in the head. He could have spent as many as 17 years in prison — which would have had him behind bars instead of in the victims’ bedrooms — but was released in 2013 after serving 11 years.
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