“I'm actually calling from Boston but bear with me. This is going to sound crazy but I'm at work and I have the, you know the southernmost web point cam,” the man told Key West police.
A Massachusetts man reported a sexual assault from 1,600 miles away while watching an EarthCam.
EarthCam allows people from all over the world to watch livestreams of popular tourist destinations such as Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the Abbey Road pedestrian crossing in London, and the beach in Rio de Janeiro. One site viewable on EarthCam.com is a monument located in Key West that marks the southernmost point of the continental U.S., a spot so renowned, people line up to take pictures alongside the monument.
A man in Boston was viewing the Key West livestream when he noticed a suspect dragging a victim behind a monument, and moments later the victim was seen stumbling away.
The digital onlooker believed he had witnessed a sexual assault and quickly called Key West police for help.
“I'm actually calling from Boston but bear with me. This is going to sound crazy but I'm at work and I have the, you know the southernmost web point cam,” he told police. “I could almost swear that I saw somebody get raped.”
Authorities say the long-distance 911 caller “happened to be watching the webcam at the time of the incident.”
“It looks like she was fighting. She fell flat on her face,” the caller told police.
Police were able to identify and arrest the assailant, Kerry Gasag. He pled guilty to sexual battery, false imprisonment and evidence tampering in court Thursday and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus five years of probation once released.
Gasag was an Uber driver and his victim that night was his passenger.
The victim was able to see justice served thanks to a webcam watcher in Boston willing to get her help from over a thousand miles away.
