Police are still searching for a man who raped and robbed a 22-year-old woman in Southeast Gainesville Sunday night.
The woman told officers that she was walking home from the Orange and Blue convenience store on Waldo Road at about 9 p.m. when she saw a man walking toward her.
When he got close to the woman, he grabbed her, pulled her into the bushes and tried to take her clothes off, said GPD spokesman Keith Kameg.
Although she never saw it, the woman said the man implied that he had a gun, Kameg said.
The man then raped her and stole her purse and the jewelry she was wearing.
After the robbery, she physically fought with the man until he ran away.
"Although the area where this happened has some issues, we have never seen anything of this magnitude, which is why we want to find the suspect immediately," Kameg said.
The suspect is a black male between 40 and 50 years old. The woman described him as having a large build, facial hair, and dirty matted hair on his head.
She also said that when he was close to her, he emitted a strong body odor.
Anyone with information about the attack are asked to call GPD detective Nick Ferrara at 352-334-2470.
