An 88-year-old Pennsylvania woman used her quick wits to avoid being sexually assaulted by a home intruder, by telling him she was HIV positive.

The Mirror reports that Helen Reynolds, who doesn’t really have HIV, was attacked on February 17 by a man who knocked on her Parkesburg apartment door, posing as an apartment employee. When she refused his offer for a drink, he forced his way into her apartment home, and bound and gagged her.

“I said to him, ‘Well, it’s like this. You might as well know the truth.’ I said, ‘I have HIV and my husband died from it,’ which is a lie. When I said that, he just walked out of the bedroom. That’s the comment that saved my life.”

Indeed, Reynolds quick thinking ultimately saved her. The suspect already had duct tape over her face, nose, and eyeglasses. He also put a box of condoms on Reynolds’ nightstand, and had his pants pulled down when she thought of the ruse.

Although she saved herself from a traumatic sexual assault, the suspect robbed Reynolds before fleeing. He took $40 cash and took the batteries out of her two house phones.

The suspect, whose still on the loose, is described as a black male in his 20s. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Reynolds described him as “tall.”

Luckily, the victim wasn’t seriously injured.

Anyone with tips and information regarding the incident should call the Parkesburg Borough Police Department at (610) 857-3535.

[Feature Photo: Parkesburg Borough Police Dept.]