Police: Man raped woman on JU campus

Woman says she was ordered at gunpoint to get into man's car

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are looking for a man who they said kidnapped a woman in Arlington on Tuesday night and raped her on the campus of Jacksonville University.

According to a police report, the woman was walking from University Boulevard along the Arlington Expressway toward a BP gas station about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when the man drove up.

"When she turned around, he pointed the gun to her and forced her to get into the vehicle," said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda.

The woman told officers the man had a chrome revolver, told her not to look at him and threatened to kill her if she screamed. He drove her to a wooded area along the St. Johns River near the Marine Science Research Center on JU's campus, according to the report.

The man ordered the woman out of the car and raped her, according to the report. After the crime, he told her she had 15 seconds to walk away, and if she looked back he would kill her, according to the report.

The woman was not a JU student.

The university's director of security, Gordon Bass Jr, issued a statement saying, "This unfortunate event saddens all of us on the JU campus, and our hearts go out to the victim and her family."

"No institution can be fully immune from random acts of crime," Bass said. "This event was an anomaly on our campus and did not involve a JU student; however, our security officials, working with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, put out a timely alert to students, faculty and staff about the incident, through the ‘JU Alert' system of text and electronic mail messages."

Bass said the campus is patrolled 24/7 by security officers, with supplementary patrols by off-duty JSO personnel. Those patrols were increased after this attack.

"Whenever you have these types of situations -- unknown suspect approaches someone with a handgun, considered armed and dangerous -- this is very serious," Bujeda said. "It's a felony and everyone needs to be aware."

The rapist is described as a black man between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 25 to 30 years old, with a short, natural hairstyle, and a fair to light complexion with tattoos on his arm. He was last seen wearing dark shorts and a light blue shirt with a white undershirt.

The man's car was a dark color, and part of its license plate was BHN.

Anyone with any information about the man's identity or whereabouts is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500, JU Campus Security at 904-256-7585 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS (8477).

Channel 4 crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson urged people to do anything they can to avoid being forced into someone's car, even if they are pointing a gun at you.

"You run in the opposite direction making as much noise as you can, because that person trying to force you into that car doesn't want any attention brought to them," Jefferson said.