‘Mother picked up woman who her son wanted to rape then drove victim away after sex attack’

Efthimios Mikedis was reportedly driven to abduct the woman at gunpoint by his mother Shannon James, who drove the woman to a supermarket parking lot after

A suspected rapist’s mother acted as his driver when he abducted his victim at gunpoint – then dropped her off again after, police say. Heavily-tattooed Efthimios Mikedis, 28, was arrested Wednesday over claims he kidnapped the woman while his mom Shannon James acted as driver.

Mikedis, from Orlando in Florida, offered to give his alleged victim – whose relationship to him as not outlined – a ride to her aunt’s home in January this year. He is then said to have turned up in a van driven by James with a gun tucked into his waist band, leaving the woman ‘instantly’ terrified. A second man called Robert McDaniel was also in the vehicle.

The woman reportedly told Mikedis she no longer wanted to go to her aunt’s house, only for him to tell her that she had to. Once in the van, Mikedis is said to have plied the woman with an unknown substance, and forced her to lay on its floor. She was taken to an address different to the one she had requested to be dropped off at, and was brought to a dilapidated Chevrolet camper at the back of that property, police say.

Once inside, the woman says she began to black out, but could recall Mikedis sexually assaulting her, and saying ‘Go on,’ before encouraging a second unidentified person to join in. The woman says that she woke up and tried to call an Uber, only for Mikedis to put another mystery substance in her mouth, Ocala News reported.

He is then said to have burned her hair with a cigarette, and held a pair of scissors to her throat. The woman began hallucinating, and was subjected to a further beating by Mikedis, she said. He is then said to have grabbed her by the hair and forced her into a vehicle that was again driven by James.

James is said to have driven the victim to a local Winn Dixie supermarket, where the woman was forced out of the car. She contacted police, who have since charged Mikedis with sexual battery. They are working to track down McDaniel, and have not ruled out bringing further charges related to the attack. Mikedis is being held at Marion County Jail.