Posted on Mon, Jul. 02, 2012

A woman was sexually assaulted by four men after they forced her into their car as she was walking along U.S. 41 in Sarasota, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

About 2:30 a.m. Monday, a deputy driving along U.S. 41 in southern Manatee saw a 37-year-old woman who was signaling for help, according to the sheriff’s office.

The woman said she had been walking in the 3500 block U.S. 41 in Sarasota, when she was approached by the suspects, who were riding in a silver car, possibly a Chrysler, according to the report.

The men forced her into the car and drove into Manatee County, where she was raped, the sheriff's office said.

The Sarasota Police Department is investigating the kidnapping, and the Manatee sheriff's office is investigating the sexual assault.

The sheriff's office said that this case does not appear connected to a kidnapping and rape that occurred Thursday night or Friday morning.

In the earlier case, at about 7 p.m. Thursday a woman was abducted at gunpoint by two males near Myrtle and U.S. 41 in Sarasota and taken to an unknown residence in Manatee County.

The victim was blindfolded, repeatedly threatened and sexually assaulted multiple times during the night, the sheriff's office reports.

About 4 a.m. Friday, the suspects drove the victim around for a while before dropping her off in the 200 block of 13th Avenue West in Bradenton.