1 of 4 UF attacks unfounded, police say

Woman admitted she was intoxicated when reporting incident, police say

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gainesville police have determined that one of the four recent reported attacks on a female student on or near the University of Florida campus was unfounded, WJXT reports.

Last Friday morning, the student reported to the UF Police Department that she was attacked by someone on campus near Library West, reportedly by the same man who had recently victimized other women, police said.

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Police said that as part of the extensive ongoing investigation, and out of an abundance of caution, routine re-interviews have been conducted with each victim and witness to ensure that detectives have the most accurate suspect information.

"During the most recent interview, it became clear that the details originally reported by the woman were different from what actually occurred," police said in a news release.

Based on this new information, police do not believe that this incident is related at all to the other reported attacks.

They said it should be noted that investigators do not believe the woman consciously fabricated a story with any sort of malicious or criminal intent to mislead police. She readily admits that she was intoxicated at the time of her original report, and has been extremely honest with investigators during subsequent interviews, therefore criminal charges will not apply.

"We commend this woman for being truthful with investigators and ensuring we have the most accurate account of recent events," the news release reads.

Police said this will not change the current police response.

We believe there is still a suspect out there that has committed very personal and invasive crimes in our city," Officer Ben Tobias said. "We are confident that the three other victims were attacked as they reported, and we will not stop until we have expended every effort to identify the suspect and bring him to justice."


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