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Roda Osman, the woman who claimed she was hit with a brick outside a Houston club, has been accused of deception and falsification.
Osman first went viral in September 2023. At the time, she claimed she was brutally assaulted by a man she turned romantically rejected.
Osman’s story spread like wildfire on TikTok and provoked outrage and sympathy from millions of users worldwide.
Many expressed their support for her and condemned the alleged actions of the man involved.
Osman shared photos of her horrific injuries from the alleged incident. Additionally, she also opened a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical expenses.
But in the words of Karlie Redd, it was all a lie. At least, according to Houston Police.
Per Click 2 Houston, Osman allegedly exploited the goodwill of the public by concocting a false narrative that convinced them to donate to her fundraising page.
She accumulated an astounding $42K in donations from people desperate to help. However, subsequent investigations have since cast doubt on the authenticity of these claims.
Authorities have charged Osman with theft by deception following an extensive inquiry that revealed inconsistencies in her original report.
The investigation revealed that she had entirely fabricated the story she presented and had not used the raised funds for the stated purpose.
Houston police officers, per C2H, first responded to an assault incident on September 3. During questioning, cops say that an intoxicated and irate Osman initially claimed that a man attacked her with a brick after she refused to give him her number.
Osman then told officers she had reason to believe that the Uber Driver she called may have been the suspect, alleging she was almost kidnapped when she entered the car.
She also had reason to believe the driver was part of a sex trafficking ring due to the large group of women inside the car.
Two weeks later, police tried to set up a follow-up call amid the investigation. But they learned that the phone number she provided to them actually belonged to a female friend, who was also present at the alleged crime scene on Sept 3.
She recalled visiting several places with Osman before the latter called her male friends to pick them up.
Two men arrived in a dark sedan, per the court docs. They both hopped into the vehicle, with the friend sitting in the front seat while Osman sat in the back with the other man.
The friend claimed that she later heard her friend ask the man in the backseat why he had hit her. “Ouch – why you hit me?” her friend quoted Osman saying in the car.
But she didn’t remember hearing any commotion or arguments erupt in the vehicle. The friend also denied ever seeing anyone hit Osman with a brick.
On September 20, about two weeks after the incident, the Houston police investigated the vicinity of the assault and found multiple surveillance cameras in the area.
The footage reportedly showed Olan Douglas, the man accused of assaulting Osman. Detectives watched as Douglas, Osman, and her friend chatted as they walked towards a garden lounge before the attack.
They entered a club together and reemerged on cameras about 20 minutes later as they walked to a white Maserati parked nearby.
While Osman was dancing up on Douglas, her friend conversed with another man before they all entered the car.
The court docs state that an argument allegedly broke out between Osman and Douglas, with the latter forcefully hitting her in the face while holding a water bottle.
Douglas got out of the car and entered an Audi shortly after while Osman moved to the front seat of the Maserati. She eventually got out, and the vehicle sped off.
Based on the surveillance footage, however, it did not support Osman’s initial statement.
Since reports of Osman’s charge surfaced, the woman has taken to Instagram to maintain that she was hit with a brick. Instead, she insists that “platforms” are striving to “benefit off of Black women’s pain.”
Osman insists external parties are trying to “intimidate” and “silence” her.
At this time, she has not been taken into custody.
