Woman fends off attacker in apartment complex gym, man turns out to be fellow tenant, admits wanting to have sex with her

A woman working out in the gym of her apartment complex was attacked by a man after letting him in through a locked door, Fox News reports.

Nashali Alma, 24, said in a video posted to the Hillsborough County Sheriff Instagram page that she opened the door for the man because she had seem him working out in the gym before.

"As soon as he was approaching me, I pushed him," Alma said.

"I said, ‘Bro, what the F are you doing? Get away from me. Stop trying to touch me.' He started chasing me around the bench, and we ended up on the other side of the gym," she added.

As the man in a hockey jersey approached her, he put his hands out in attempt to grab the woman by her waist. Alma yelled at him as she continued to push him away. The man then chased Alma around some gym equipment before eventually wrestling her to the ground.

After fighting him off, the woman ran away to a nearby apartment and called police.

According to court records obtained by Fox 13 Tampa about the man, Xavier Thomas-Jones, the 25-year-old lives in the apartment complex where the attack happened.

"I was disgusted by the suspect’s actions, how he preyed on this young woman," Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County said. "I'm grateful that she came forward, I know her story is going to be an inspiration to other women."

Thomas-Jones was charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and kidnapping less than 24 hours after the incident. He also reportedly admitted to attacking the woman because he wanted to have sex with her.

Alma, a medical lab technician, offered up some inspirational advice in the video.

"My advice would be to never give up," she said. "My parents always told me in life to never give up on anything, and that's one thing I always kept in my mind when I was fighting him."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!