On October 25^th, 2022 at approximately 2018 hours (8:18 pm) officers from the Bloomsburg Police Department were dispatched to the 400 Block of East Street for the report of an attempted rape. Officers were provided a detailed description of the suspect and informed that the male was running north on East Street toward Main Street.

At the time of the assault, the victim had been home alone and had her front door partially open while she was cleaning. A male wearing a mask and a black hooded jacket barged into her home, pulled a 13 ½ inch kitchen knife from his jacket pocket, pointed the knife at the victim, and told her he wanted to have sex. The assailant pressed the knife to the victim’s throat, told her she would not be hurt if she did what he wanted, and forced her to remove all of her clothing. The victim was then forced to get down on her knees as the assailant groped her.

The victim was able to identify the actor from previous interactions at her place of business as Gary Davis Coco. The victim convinced Coco to place the knife outside of the residence. The victim stated that she walked with the man to the door and opened the door for him to put the knife outside. The victim noticed that her assailant was moving slowly, so she took the opportunity and ran from the house as fast as she could. The victim stated that she ran to a neighbor’s house and started banging on the door and screaming for the neighbors to call 911. The victim and her neighbor saw the assailant fleeing from the scene, and were able to provide his direction of travel to dispatchers.

Bloomsburg Police Officers located the assailant in the 300 Block of Lightstreet Road, where the male was immediately taken into custody. The knife described by the victim was found in the male’s pocket, and once the mask was removed the assailant was identified as Gary Davis Coco. Coco is a registered sex offender, who had an outstanding felony warrant for failing to comply with Megan’s Law requirements. Coco was arraigned before Magistrate Brewer and placed in Columbia County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail. Additional charges of Attempted Rape, Burglary, Indecent Assault, Simple Assault, Terroristic Threats, and Criminal Trespass are pending against Coco at this time.