Detectives are looking for a man they said broke into a Lake Wales house and tried to sexually batter the woman who lived inside.
The incident happened in the 200 block of Emerald Avenue at 11:30 p.m. Monday.
According to Lake Wales police, the 68-year-old woman said the man, who was armed with a kitchen knife, came into her house through an unsecured door. The woman told police the man exposed himself and demanded she perform a sex act on him, officials said.
The woman refused and screamed, at which point the suspect ran from the house, police said.
The woman was not injured.
The suspect is described as a clean-shaven black man in his early 20s. He is thin and stands between 5'7" and 5'9" with a medium to dark complexion. The suspect was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black or dark colored shoes with white markings.
Police said the woman told them the suspect was polite and well-spoken.
The same man is suspected in a similar burglary that happened May 2 in the 700 block of South Fourth Street. In that incident, police said a 73-year-old woman was asleep in a chair when she woke up to a man straddling her.
The woman screamed and the man fled from the residence. Police said the man had gotten into the house through an unsecured door.
The woman in this incident was also not injured.
Anyone with information about either case is asked to call 863-678-4223 ext. 264 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 800-226-8477.