Following a report of a sexual assault in the Duckpond neighborhood Saturday morning, Gainesville Police has increased patrols in search of a suspect.
Sometime before 2 a.m. Saturday, a woman was walking from downtown Gainesville to her home near East University Avenue and Northeast First Street when a man approached her and asked to borrow her lighter, according to a press release GPD issued Tuesday.
She let the man use her lighter and continued walking northbound. As she walked north of Northeast First Street, she noticed the man following her, according to the release. When he began asking for her name, she ignored him and continued walking.
Near the 600 block of Northeast Second Street, the man approached her from behind and pointed what she believed to be a firearm to her head, according to the release. She later confirmed he had a firearm.
The man then forced her next to a nearby business on Northeast Second Street, where he sexually assaulted her and left, according to the release. The suspect’s description was not released.
GPD detectives don’t have any leads to publically share, but they have noticed an increase this year in sexual assault-related crimes like molestation and assault, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
Last year, there were nearly 80 cases of this type of crime. This year, there are a little more than 100. In 2014, the numbers were in the 90s. The numbers fluctuate each year, Tobias said.
In a Facebook post Monday, Norma Berger, a 38-year-old Gainesville resident, posted a note written by her “dear friend who will remain anonymous,” referring to the woman assaulted.
In the statement, the woman recounts the more than six hours she said she spent talking to doctors and police following her assault.
“In every moment leading up to, during, and after feeling the gun pressed into the back of my neck, I thought about what I wanted to do, what I always thought I would do, and ultimately how I didn't want this to be the way I die,” the statement reads. “Take an uber, take a cab. Bring some buddies, catch a ride. Just please take care of yourselves and each other.”
Shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday, after receiving a call from the woman, GPD set up a perimeter with police dogs tracking the suspect back to North Main Street. The man was never located.
Anyone with information should call GPD detectives at 352-393-7670 or text “GPDFL” and the tip to 274637.
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