Pittsburgh Police used an Apple AirTag to track down a Pittsburgh man who admitted to sexually assaulting an Oakland woman in her home Thursday.
Charles Willis, 29, was arrested Saturday and charged with burglary, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, harassment and loitering and prowling at nighttime, court records say.
Pittsburgh Police received a report of a burglary and assault around 4 a.m. Thursday from a woman residing in the 3400 block of Parkview Avenue in Oakland, according to a sworn affidavit. She told police she went to sleep in her bed alone but awoke in the middle of the night to the feeling of someone touching her thigh, buttock and genital areas.
She told police she saw a man “quickly, quietly and calmly” get up from the other side of her bed and exit her bedroom through the door. She put on her bathrobe and walked into her hallway, noticing rustling sounds coming from downstairs, the affidavit says.
The woman told police she observed a shadowy figure standing in front of a living room window overlooking her front porch, which the man used to exit her residence. He ran up nearby Semple Street and turned onto Bolair Way, she told police.
She also told police he stole from her residence two $1 bills and an Apple AirTag — a small tracking device that helps users locate items such as keys, wallets and luggage. The complaint did not say whether the AirTag was located inside a bag or other item. Pittsburgh Public Safety could not provide further information Sunday.
Detectives from the Pittsburgh Police Department identified two fingerprints and two palm prints on the front porch window, all of which matched Willis, according to the affidavit.
City surveillance footage from the intersection of Semple and Louisa streets showed a man — who matched a description the woman provided — walking in the area at 4:09 a.m. Thursday. Footage also shows Willis attempting to open the front doors of three other residences along Meyran Avenue, the affidavit says.
Detectives instructed the woman to ping the AirTag she said Willis stole from her residence. On Saturday, the ping showed the AirTag was located behind Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens along Schenley Drive. Police searched the area Saturday and found Willis walking on the train tracks above Boundary Street. He was detained and taken to police headquarters for questioning, the affidavit says.
Willis told police he was walking around Oakland early Thursday morning in search of cigarettes. He admitted to entering the woman’s residence and said he was looking for money or valuables to salvage. He told police he lives in a homeless encampment in the woods near a lake in Schenley Park.
In the affadavit, police say Willis admitted to sexually assaulting the woman while she slept, in details matching what she told police. He said that when she awoke, he fled from the residence. He denied taking money and the AirTag.
Willis told police “he understands what he did was wrong and that he was a weak man,” according to the affidavit.
Willis is being held in Allegheny County Jail. A judge denied him bail, citing a potential threat to the victim and the public. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. June 2 at the Pittsburgh Municipal Court.