Local

Dispatcher pretended to be woman's boyfriend during attack

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A local 911 dispatcher walked us through the moments an abducted woman called needing urgent help.

He pretended to be her boyfriend when her attacker forced her to make the call.

Deonte Smith, a senior 911 operator in Clayton County, says he was just doing his job and the victim deserves all the credit for keeping her wits about her while she was being attacked and sexually assaulted.

“I would like to meet you in person. I really want to. I’m thankful for your quick thinking,” Smith said of the victim.

He also says she got some help from above because if she had called a few seconds later he would have been on break.

”Honestly I'd say divine intervention,” Smith said. “I was the only guy on the floor that night. The other guy we had had just left not too long before the call came in.”

The caller said she was being assaulted by Robert Timothy Giles. Officers say Giles kidnapped the victim and brought her to a novelty store parking lot on Tara Boulevard around 4 a.m. Monday.

Police say Giles forced the victim to call her boyfriend so he could listen in on the assault.

The victim instead called 911 and Smith pretended to be her boyfriend.

“(It was) the most extreme call of my career,” Smith said.

Police say Smith talked to Giles and tried to get him to stop the assault. Smith told Channel 2’s Tom Jones the call upset him.

“Very much so. I have a daughter, I have a sister and I have a mom. (It’s) difficult, it really is. I was really upset,” Smith said.

But Smith said he had to remain professional. He dispatched police and when they arrived, officers say Giles was still assaulting the victim.

A Clayton County judge denied bond for Giles Tuesday.

Giles shook his head in disagreement when the judge read details about the attack.

The 27-year-old faces rape, false imprisonment and obstruction charges.