Pryor Jailed After Incident With Woman

Former world boxing champion Aaron Pryor, recovering from a minor gunshot wound, was jailed without bond Thursday on charges of raping and imprisoning a 26-year-old woman in his home following an argument over his alleged cocaine use, police said.

Metro-Dade County Police detective Virginia Martin said the incident began just after midnight Tuesday when a female house guest said she saw Pryor smoking crack cocaine in a bathroom.

“He became enraged when she discovered this and told her not to say anything,” the detective said. The two continued arguing. Pryor then tied the woman’s wrists and ankles with electrical cord and sexually assaulted her, Martin said.

“During this time, he beat her about her body with a handgun and a stick,” Martin said.

Wednesday, two other unidentified house guests arrived at Pryor’s home. They heard the woman struggling, still tied in a bedroom, and got into a fight with Pryor, 31, when they tried to help her, Martin said. Pryor pulled a gun.

“He threatened to kill the witnesses and the victim,” Martin said.

During a scuffle, the gun went off and Pryor was shot in the left hand. The guests then took the woman to a hospital, where she was treated and released.

Thursday morning, Pryor was arrested at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had gone to have his hand treated.

Pryor was charged with sexual battery, false imprisonment, aggravated battery and six counts of aggravated assault. He was held Thursday in the county jail’s medical ward, which is at Jackson, Fla.

Pryor was arrested in his hometown of Cincinnati last October after his mother, Sarah Pryor, claimed in a sworn statement that her son had choked her in her home. A December arrest warrant was issued against Pryor on that charge, and he later satisfied the warrant by posting bond. A March 30 hearing date is set in the case.

Last August, Pryor was found innocent on charges of driving under the influence of cocaine but was convicted of a reduced charge of reckless operation of a motor vehicle. His driver’s license was suspended for a year.

Pryor was stripped of his International Boxing Federation junior welterweight title in December 1985 for failing to defend it.