Police arrested man accused of raping woman in downtown Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - A man was arrested on sexual battery charges in Gainesville after a woman he is accused of raping chased him down and crashed into his vehicle.

On Sunday, Telvin Sweeting, 31, was arrested on charges of sexual battery and robbery nearly a year after a woman accused him of raping her while intoxicated after a night out in downtown Gainesville.

According to the arrest report, in April 2022, the victim was out drinking with her friends at Simon’s nightclub. She lost consciousness and woke up in the back of an unknown car. The woman’s clothes were off, Sweeting was on top of her, and he had ejaculated.

Sweeting then drove her back to her car. When she got into her vehicle, she called a friend to explain she had been raped and started taking pictures of Sweeting’s vehicle.

The victim says Sweating violently grabbed the phone out of her hand and broke several of her nails in the process. He then drove off, but the woman got into her vehicle and followed.

She rammed the back of his car multiple times in the hope to get Sweating to stop and get him identified by law enforcement. Eventually, the woman lost track of Sweeting and asked a stranger to call 911 for her.

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She went to the hospital to have a rape kit completed. When the test came back in August 2022, the DNA swabbed off the woman matched Sweeting. Detectives used license-place readers in the area to determine Sweeting was at the location at the time of the crime. Photos even showed before and after the car was damaged by the victim ramming the vehicle.

On Sunday, the victim spotted Sweeting at TB McPherson Park in Gainesville. He was then arrested by Gainesville Police officers.

When interviewed, Sweeting denied everything. He claimed he was in Daytona at the time of the incident despite license plate readers showing his vehicle in Gainesville.

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