Gainesville Police officers arrested a man accused of raping a 19-year-old autistic man in a northwest Gainesville park.
At about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Joe Van Scott Jenkins, 19, of 622 Queens Road, and his friend, whose name was not released by police, were walking from The Oaks Mall to Cofrin Nature Park, located north of Northwest Eighth Avenue, according to a GPD arrest report.
Once inside the park, Jenkins allegedly pinned the victim against a tree and raped him.
Two witnesses walking along a park trail saw the men and interrupted them.
GPD spokesman Ben Tobias said the victim screamed at the witnesses to call police while Jenkins fled from the area.
After the officers interviewed the victim, an ambulance took him to Shands at UF for treatment.
Meanwhile, police located and arrested Jenkins in the 4800 block of Northwest Eighth Avenue.
During an interview with detectives, Jenkins said he had known the victim for about three years, according to the report.
Jenkins denied raping his friend, saying the victim had threatened to call police and report he had been raped if Jenkins did not have sex with him.
Jenkins added that he engaged in the sex act out of fear.
Later that afternoon, police booked Jenkins into the Alachua County Jail on a sexual assault charge, which is a second-degree felony.
As of Monday night, Jenkins remained in jail with a $20,000 bond.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
