A woman who was raped and beaten is trying to get the word out about her attacker.
Angelique Perrin, 29, was sexually battered July 5 after accepting a ride from a stranger in front of the Copper Monkey, 1700 W University Ave.
The attacker was a heavy-set white male, 30 to 35 years old, with military-style, reddish-brown hair and a goatee, according to a bulletin released by police. He drove a 2007 to 2011 gray Toyota Tundra extended cab pickup with a gray interior.
Perrin had an appointment near UF the morning of July 5 and decided to step into a restaurant for a drink while she waited for a later appointment.
Around noon, Perrin was leaving the Copper Monkey when a man pulled up next to her and asked if she needed a ride. Perrin accepted and got in the truck. She admitted she was intoxicated at the time.
Within minutes, she knew something was wrong. She asked the man to let her out of the truck, but he refused. Instead, he took her to the old Windmeadows Trailer Park behind Butler Plaza and raped and beat her until she passed out.
She said she's not sure how long the man continued to assault her because she kept losing consciousness, but she knows that the whole incident spanned a few hours.
Perrin eventually managed to escape, naked, into the woods. She jumped a chain-link fence and ran onto Southwest 24th Avenue, where a motorist stopped and called an ambulance for her.
She was taken to Shands between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and released around midnight. A GPD detective took the initial police report from the hospital.
More than two weeks later, Perrin was still covered in bruises and scratches that had begun to scar.
"I have no doubt that I was not supposed to escape this with my life," Perrin said.
She said from the way the man was beating her, he intended to kill her to keep her quiet.
But rape wasn't even the scariest part for Perrin. During the attack, her rapist took her wallet, which contained her personal information, including her home address and house key. Because she couldn't get her locks changed until the next morning, Perrin asked for a police officer to be stationed at the end of her street, a service which wasn't volunteered by GPD.
Perrin also took charge of publicizing her case, since she didn't see police making any move to spread the word. She said she doesn't understand why she has had to take on the burden herself, especially in regard to distributing fliers with the description of the rapist.
Perrin said GPD assured her the fliers would be distributed all over the city, but as of July 22 she said she'd only seen one or two posted by police. She distributed the rest of the fliers around town with her fiancé.
Perrin also wanted to post the fliers at UF to show students there was a rapist in the area.
When she called University Police to ask how to post the fliers on campus, she said she was told that she had to get clearance from GPD to do so. Perrin said getting approval took several days.
"We've been very proactive in all cases dealing with GPD and the [Alachua County Sheriff's Office]," UPD Maj. Brad Barber said. "It seems strange that that would have happened."
GPD Det. Cpl. Nick Ferrara, who is handling Perrin's case, said he didn't think UPD was opposed to Perrin passing out fliers but that the dispatcher she spoke to didn't want Perrin to compromise the investigation by distributing something she made herself.
Perrin got permission to distribute the fliers on campus July 21, two weeks and two days after she was raped.
"I'm surprised that she's so active," Ferrara said. "I don't usually see this in a sexual battery victim. But, you know, more power to her."
Ferrara said the composite sketch was done July 7, and the whole next day was devoted to finding the location of the attack. A law enforcement bulletin was sent out on July 13.
Ferrara said the lag time from when the attack happened and the bulletin went out was standard, since it takes a few days for the composite sketch to come back, and Perrin's memory was spotty.
Because of a lack of resources, Ferrara said GPD can't physically post copies of the bulletin around the city. Instead, the bulletin is emailed to all GPD officers, surrounding law enforcement agencies, neighborhood crime watch leaders and many property managers.
The case is still open, Ferrara said, and GPD is actively investigating.
Barber said UPD will take all steps necessary to assist Perrin and GPD.
Perrin is still unsatisfied with their efforts.
She said the process of reporting the attack has been almost as traumatizing as the rape itself.
"I've been raped for two weeks and three days," she said July 22.
"While he gets to go to McDonald's, he gets to go to work - while he gets to keep his life."
