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Roda Osman, a Texas woman largely referred to as “Brick Lady” on social media, has been charged with making a false assault claim where she said she was hit in the face with a brick. Osman went viral after sharing a video of injuries that were linked to the assault, raising over $40,000 on GoFundMe in the process.
Local outlet KPRC 2 reports that Roda Osman, 33, was charged with felony theft by deception after investigators discovered that Osman’s story didn’t add up. According to the report, Houston police responded to the scene of the alleged assault on Sept. 3 of last year, meeting with Osman and another woman. According to the officers, Osman was reportedly under the influence and hostile.
Osman told police that she was walking in the city when a man threw a brick at her for not giving up her phone number, according to findings from the court documents. Adding to this, Osman claimed that the driver of an Uber car service she ordered was the man who assaulted her and said that the man was part of a human trafficking scheme.
Almost two weeks later on Sept. 15, detectives attempted to contact Osman by phone but the number belonged to the woman that was on the scene of the alleged assault. The woman said she was not a native of Houston and went out drinking with Osman that night and added that Osman called male friends to provide transportation.
The woman said that when the pair entered the vehicle, Osman yelled out “why you hit me” but said she didn’t hear any sort of argument or discussion beforehand. Off the record, the woman said she didn’t think Osman was hit by a brick. The woman then said that the man suspected of hitting Osman exited the car and entered another vehicle before driving off. It was then that Osman decided to go live on Instagram with the woman suggesting she contact the authorities.
Days later on Sept. 20, Houston detectives obtained surveillance video footage and located Olan Douglas, the man Osman claimed hit her. Charging documents say that Douglas and Osman were arguing with Douglas reportedly swinging his right hand and striking Osman in the face with what appeared to be a plastic water bottle. This information has some supporters of Osman saying she was indeed assaulted but there was also an alleged account that Osman struck Douglas first.
As it stands, the issue is that the story Osman gave police neglected to reveal that she knew the man who allegedly struck her instead of it being a random person who was harassing her during her night out. This prompted Daphne Sutton, a popular TikTok user, to call Houston police and suggest that Osman made everything up because of an incident that allegedly place in Minnesota in 2020.
Sutton gave Houston police the GoFundMe link from 2020 that shared a similar bent to the Houston attack story and also obtained statements from Osman’s former roommate and friends. Minneapolis police said to Houston officials that Osman never reported the alleged assault despite launching the GoFundMe page. The roommate that Sutton spoke with also reached out to Houston police and said that Osman was scamming people out of money.
Roda Osman, who had prior criminal charges in the Virgin Islands, Minnesota, and across Texas, is currently out on bail for felony assault and domestic violence connected to an incident in Minnesota.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news. We’ve captured comments from all sides below.
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Photo: Getty