Investigators: Woman kidnapped, raped along Wayne County road

Sgt. Keith Hartzog said the 29-year-old woman was driving home from work around 2:30 a.m. when she came upon a car with its flashers on in the middle of the road near U.S. Highway 111 South and Bill Lane Boulevard in Elroy.

Concerned that someone was stranded, she stopped, helped the driver move the vehicle to the shoulder of the road and offered him a ride.

Hertzog said that once in her car, the man – identified as Bobby Ray Grady, 36 – pulled out a knife, placed it against the woman's neck and ordered her to stop along another rural road. He raped her there and threatened her if she reported it to law enforcement, authorities said.

"The victim was able to remain calm and memorize enough details that she could describe her attacker with such detail that investigators, with the assistance of patrol officers, were able to quickly develop a suspect," Hartzog stated in a release.

Grady, of 807 Stanley Church Road in Dudley, was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping. He was placed in the Wayne County jail under a $500,000 secured bond.

Grady was convicted of second-degree kidnapping and common-law robbery in 2002 and given probation, according to state Department of Correction records. His probation was revoked in 2003, though, and he served 21 months in prison.

He also served eight months in jail for a 2005 misdemeanor conviction, DOC records show. His criminal record dates from 1993, when he was also convicted of misdemeanor breaking and entering.

DOC records state that while in prison, Grady has committed 34 infractions, including one for assaulting staff with a sexual instrument, six for sexual acts and four other assault-related ones.