18-Year-Old Man Arrested And Charged With Beating And Rape Of Elderly Nun

An 18-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the brutal beating and rape of an elderly nun outside St. Titus Church in Aliquippa, Penn., CBS Local reports.

Andrew Bullock, 18, of Aliquippa, is facing felony charges of rape, aggravated assault and sexual assault, and misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure, simple assault and reckless endangerment, according to court documents obtained by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Police say he admitted to attacking the victim, who was not identified, according to the Post-Gazette.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has more:

Just before 11:30 a.m., the nun was walking in the church parking lot when she was approached from behind by a man who asked her if she needed help, she told police. She told him she didn't and thanked him, at which point he told her to look down at his exposed genitals.

She turned to walk away and he grabbed her neck and started choking her to the ground, punching her head and face, according to police, and sexually assaulted her. When police arrived, she was unable to speak due to her injuries but wrote on a piece of paper that she had been raped.

"The first thing you notice when you look up up where this horrific act occurred, is the statue of the Virgin Mary looking down," Assistant Chief Dan Couch told CBS Local.

Police were able to track down Bullock through a description of the clothing he was wearing, The Gazette reports. The tread and size of his boots were also a match to a boot print left in the snow near the site of the attack, according to CBS Local.

The 70-year-old nun, who was recovering from a broken jaw, was reportedly in stable condition on Saturday morning and expected to be released from the hospital.

The Sisters of St. Joseph released a statement to CBS Local:

"The Sisters of St. Joseph are deeply saddened and heart-broken by the assault of one of our Sisters. Through God's grace and goodness, Sister is expected to be released from the hospital today."