Pensacola Man Charged in Brutal Home Invasion, Sexual Assault of Elderly Woman

PENSACOLA, FL – A 22-year-old Pensacola man is being held without bond after being arrested and charged with the sexual assault and burglary of a 79-year-old woman in her home earlier this month. The swift actions of law enforcement, aided by vigilant community members and store surveillance, led to the quick apprehension of the suspect, Jeremiah Mateen.

According to an arrest report, the harrowing incident unfolded around 6 a.m. on August 8th. The victim, who had lived in her trailer home for 19 years, was reportedly asleep when a knock at her door roused her. A young man, later identified as Mateen, requested water and the use of her phone. As the woman turned to retrieve water, the suspect forcefully entered her home, immediately attacking her from behind and choking her.

The victim recounted to deputies that Mateen then undressed both himself and her, proceeding to sexually assault her while continuing to choke her. Despite her attempts to fight back, she was unsuccessful. The terrifying ordeal lasted approximately two minutes before the assailant fled her home. The woman was later transported to the hospital for her injuries; her current condition has not been released.

The alarm was first raised by a second woman in the neighborhood, who reported being approached by a suspicious man fitting Mateen’s description around 6:10 a.m. He also asked her for water and to use her phone, but she refused. She immediately notified the trailer park manager. The manager, after spotting the suspect and failing to approach him before he rode off on his bike, began checking on residents. It was then he discovered the 79-year-old woman and learned of the sexual assault, prompting him to call deputies around 6:30 a.m.

The investigation rapidly gained momentum when, while deputies were still on scene at the trailer park, a call came in about an attempted theft at the Penny Patch store on Michigan Avenue. A clerk reported a young man, matching the sexual assault suspect’s description, who attempted to steal items. The suspect, after leaving his bicycle outside, returned to the store. Seizing the opportunity, the quick-thinking clerk secured the suspect’s bike in a fenced area, prompting the man to flee on foot.

Crucially, the store clerk provided deputies with surveillance images of the attempted theft suspect. The individual’s description—a black male wearing a black shirt, black pants with rips, and visible gray boxers—matched the description provided by the sexual assault victim. The bicycle also matched. An investigator on scene immediately recognized the suspect from the surveillance footage as Jeremiah Mateen, noting he was “the subject of a similar investigation.”

Further review of surrounding surveillance cameras showed Mateen riding in the direction of the victim’s home around 6 a.m. and leaving the vicinity approximately 15 minutes later. Deputies arrested Mateen later that afternoon and booked him into Escambia County Jail, holding him without bond.

Mateen has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sexual assault and burglary with assault. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 29th. While Mateen had no prior criminal charges in Escambia County, a May 2021 Facebook post by the Clayton County Police Department in Georgia indicated he was reported as a missing person at age 18 and had recently been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This information, while providing context, does not diminish the gravity of the charges he now faces.