Oakland sex worker hospitalized after teen girls beat her inside store bathroom, police say

OAKLAND — A 19-year-old Texas woman was hospitalized with a head injury after two girls, both suspected of being trafficked by men, broke into the convenience store bathroom where she was hiding and beat her with a toilet tank lid, according to court records.

The July 26 beating has now resulted in criminal charges against two men who allegedly aided in the attack. Gyasi Rapier, 19, of Hayward, faces accessory charges while Damir Whiles, 19, of Oakland, is charged with attempted second degree robbery, court records show. The two attackers, both believed to be teen girls, were identified in court filings only as “Ny Ny” and “Queen.”

The victim told authorities that a day before the attack she’d been accosted by Queen, who attempted to recruit her for her pimp, “Deezy.” When the victim informed Queen she didn’t have a pimp, a group showed up to the Value Inn on MacArthur Boulevard and attempted to break into the woman’s room. Hours later, the woman returned to International Boulevard to look for potential johns, but was chased into a convenience store bathroom, authorities said.

The two girls allegedly used a large pole to break down the door and assaulted the woman inside the bathroom, while two men dragged the victim’s friend away so that the girls could have easier access to the woman, authorities said. The attack ended when the woman called 911.

Rapier was arrested after police identified his Lexus as the getaway car. He has been released from jail while his charge is pending, and a judge ordered him to stay in school and out of “areas of prostitution.”

When Whiles was arrested last month, he denied to police that he was a pimp and said he was buying something in the store when he heard a commotion. He denied involvement, though police say he was captured by surveillance footage demanding money from the victim. Whiles also pointed to a possible motive — he said the victim and Queen had robbed another woman of $2,000 earlier, but the victim refused to share the proceeds, authorities said.

Whiles also claimed that the victim sprayed them with pepper spray, though the victim told police she was the one who was sprayed. When officers entered the convenience store to respond to the 911 call, the eye-piercing miasma of the spray permeated the room, according to court records.