Gainesville Police arrested an Orlando man after officers said he tried to sexually assault and rob another man at an ATM on Sunday afternoon.
The victim drew money out of a walk-up ATM at the Campus USA Credit Union on Southwest 34th Street at about 4:30 p.m. Police said 58-year-old Phuc X. Kieu (his real name) was inside his car with the driver’s seat pushed all the way back and began watching homosexual pornography on a portable DVD player in the bank parking lot.
When the other man walked by Kieu’s green Honda Civic, Kieu got out of the car and grabbed him. Kieu then punched the man in the mouth, grabbed $220 from him and pulled him into his car.
Once inside the car, police said Kieu straddled the man and started to pull off the victim’s shirt, belt and pants.
The victim managed to get Kieu off of him and get out of the car. While he was trying to escape, police said Kieu grabbed the man’s backpack. The victim still managed to get away.
The victim then ran to the nearby 34th Street Plaza, yelling “rapist.”
Police found Kieu shortly after and arrested him on charges of sexual assault, robbery and kidnapping. He is currently being held on a $150,000 bond.
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Further investigation revealed that the Orlando man who was arrested for attempted sexual battery and other charges Monday is innocent.
At the time of the original incident, police conducted an investigation that ultimately led to the arrest of Phuc X. Kieu, 58. The original report said Kieu dragged another man into his car, straddled him and began taking the man’s clothes off. He also allegedly stole $220 in cash.
However, Gainesville Police announced on Wednesday that a follow up investigation showed video surveillance that contradicted the victim’s original statements, a release said.
As investigators viewed the footage, they concluded that 21-year-old Jeremy Mitchell of Starke made up the entire incident.
Mitchell was arrested and charged with filing a false police report
The State Attorney’s Office is in the process of releasing Kieu from jail.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/25/2014]
