Stafford VA. A suspect was arrested on Friday night by deputies with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office after attempting to sexually assault a female subject at a local business.

On August 30, 2019, at approximately 8:37 p.m., deputies responded to the 400 block of Garrisonville Road for a reported suspicious person with a weapon. Upon arrival, they made contact with the 27-year-old female victim.

The victim told deputies she entered East Coast Vapers located at 432 Garrisonville Road alone around closing time. While inside the store, an employee of the business pointed a firearm at her head and attempted to sexually assault her. She managed to escape and immediately contacted the Sheriff’s Office.

Charles Henry Austin III, 31, of Stafford was taken into custody and incarcerated at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond. He is charged with attempted rape, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, abduction, aggravated sexual battery, brandishing a firearm, and assault and battery.

The incident remains under investigation by detectives with the Sheriff’s Office.