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Police search for suspect after sex attack near UF sorority houses

A screenshot of the area in Gainesville's Innovation District where the sex attack took place (Courtesy of Google Maps)
A screenshot of the area in Gainesville's Innovation District where the sex attack took place (Courtesy of Google Maps)

Police are searching for a young man who broke into a home near the University of Florida’s sorority houses in the middle of the night this week and sexually attacked someone.

The crime occurred in the area of 400 SW 10th Street, just east of the university’s campus and only blocks away from Sorority Row. The neighborhood is known as the Innovation District, described as UF’s urban technology and business community.

Police said the man entered the accuser’s home just after 3 a.m. Tuesday through the front door and entered the room where the resident was sleeping. The accuser was awakened by a noise and was sexually battered, police said, before the man fled the scene.

Law enforcement agencies in Florida define sexual battery as oral, anal or vaginal penetration without consent.

The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s with light blonde or brown hair. He was last seen wearing a light blue polo shirt, shorts and a cover over his face. Police said the suspect and the accuser did not know each other.

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This is a breaking news story. Check back for further developments. Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org

Vivienne is a reporter for WUFT News who can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.