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'You saw me as prey': Sex assault victim sends message to attacker after facing him in court

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte woman was attacked and raped while walking home from uptown last Halloween. Monday, she faced her attacker with a message as he was sentenced to prison.

The incident happened in the early morning hours after Halloween on West Morehead Street, just outside of uptown. The survivor was walking home when 19-year-old Robert Thomas attacked her and raped her.

The victim said this was the first time she saw him in person since the attack.

In a statement to Thomas in court, she said that as an African-American woman, she felt this was an act of betrayal.

(Robert Anthony Thomas Jr.) 

"Assuming the worst is what gets black men like you shot and immediately locked up all the time. I saw you as another human being. Unfortunately, you saw me as prey," the victim said.

After appearing in court, she agreed to speak with Channel 9's Glenn Counts because she said she believes she has an important message and urges others to quit feeding into the stereotype.

"Now, when the news puts that out there, they just see another black man with a violent streak," the victim said. "There are so many people fighting against that. There are so many wonderful black men in this world, but they get lumped into that category because people like him set that kind of example."

Officials said Thomas took a plea deal. He was originally facing 42 years in prison, but under the deal, he will spend 11 to 19 years in prison.

"I see myself as way more powerful than him, especially in that situation with him being chained up in that lovely orange jumpsuit so it wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be," the victim said.