Yeah, if that happened to my wife/girlfriend and I, they'd have to kill me. 99% of the time, I will avoid confrontation, but watching my partner get raped falls in the 1% where instincts take over.

Yeah, if that happened to my wife/girlfriend and I, they'd have to kill me. 99% of the time, I will avoid confrontation, but watching my partner get raped falls in the 1% where instincts take over.

West Side
woman recounts assault



Daisy Patterson will try to live peacefully again.

But the fresh memories of being raped, beaten and held hostage in her home will linger for the rest of her life.

At least for now, Patterson is relieved that her alleged rapist, Joseph Lawrence Shaw, 40, is off the streets and behind bars.

“They got him,” she said this morning near her Delaware Avenue home. “I really appreciate them finding him. If I had a gun, I’d like to go down there and shoot his ass.”

Shaw was arrested about 2 a.m. on charges he forced his way into Patterson’s home Saturday and raped her. According to a criminal complaint filed at Kanawha County Magistrate Court, Shaw struck her several times in the face, head and body, causing injuries. After sexually assaulting her, Shaw forced the victim to stay inside the home for several hours, the complaint said.

Police found Shaw at the Washington Manor housing project in downtown Charleston after launching a citywide manhunt for the suspect, who also was wanted in New York on a parole violation stemming from an armed robbery.

Charleston Police Lt. Jim Sands said police got an anonymous tip that Shaw was at 606 Davis Court.

When officers arrived at the scene and knocked on the apartment’s door, Shaw opened it and they arrested him immediately, Sands said.

Shaw was armed with a knife, but Patrolmen Tim Davis and Rick Edwards took him into custody without incident.

Patterson said she knew her alleged assailant from working with him at Appalachian Power Park, and that he told her he’d been stalking her in recent weeks.

“I didn’t know anything about his background,” Patterson said. “He said he was waiting for me to come home. He ended up holding me hostage in my own home for 18 hours.”

The victim tried to throw hot grease onto Shaw at one point, but spilled some on her arms instead.

“I always keep grease on the stove for fried chicken, but I was so upset I burned my own self,” she said. “I was too shaky, too scared.”

Patterson said she finally outsmarted Shaw by telling him he was welcome to stay at her home. Shaw had continually asked if he could stay with her because he said he couldn’t get into the men’s shelter, she said. Patterson then told him she’d find him a ride to try to help him get into the shelter. She left her home, got into a neighbor’s car and sped away.

Her boyfriend, who lives in Institute, then met her and took her to the police station.

Patterson said Shaw didn’t let her use her cell phone while he held her captive. She was able to grab her phone on the way out, she said.
“I hope he gets serious time,” she said. “I’m just glad he didn’t get to rape anyone else.”

Patterson is also relieved that her cat wasn’t harmed.

“I told him, ‘You can do anything to me, but don’t mess my kitty up.’ She tried to scratch him, but I wish it was a dog instead of a cat. A dog would’ve ate his ass up.”

Patterson said she’d undergone several tests at hospitals since the alleged incident. She’s thankful she hadn’t contracted any diseases, but said she’s awaiting the results of an AIDS test.

“The hospital said it was the worst case they’ve ever seen,” she said. “People don’t know what it’s like unless they’ve been raped themselves. It was so bad, I told him to kill me. I feel dirty. I’m dirty. This is on my brain for the rest of my life.”

Patterson says she’ll exert more caution in her life, especially if she wants to party or go out after dark.

“That’s the only thing I’ve learned from this,” she said. “You can’t come out at night, go home and relax yourself.

“I’m happy I’m living. I’ll never be the same person again in my life. I’m a whole different person.”

Charleston police Sgt. S.A. Cooper said the tip was made by someone who had seen Shaw’s picture on a local news broadcast.

He was charged with burglary, kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault and being a fugitive from justice.

Sands said police are still trying to figure out the relationship between Shaw and the person renting the apartment where he was found. No other arrests were made.

Shaw was being held at South Central Regional Jail. No bond was set for kidnapping because only a circuit court judge can set bond on a kidnapping charge. Bond was set at $50,000 cash only on the burglary and sexual assault charges.

Sadly, shit like this happens everywhere.

Violence is the most disgusting thing on Earth.

I feel dirty. I’m dirty.”

Thats immediately what I thought of upon seeing the thread. Shit like this happens everyday.

I realize that woman get raped everyday but the part that really sickened me was how the boyfriend was made to watch, that and how she was forced to perform oral sex on one of the guys, then threw up. Plus I know where this happened so I could put myself in that situation and it totally hit home and stuff like this just scares the shit out of me. How can some people be so utterly destructive and violent towards others?