Jacksonville University is on alert after a woman was reportedly raped and battered on campus last week.
A woman walking alone near the Arlington Expressway on the night of Aug. 7 was picked up at gunpoint around 8:30 p.m. WTEV reported, and then driven onto the Jacksonville campus. A man had pulled up in a car, according to First Coast News, and asked her what time it was before pulling out a chrome revolver.
The woman was taken to a wooded area near the JU Marine Science Research Institute where the attacker reportedly sexually assaulted her in his car, according to a university alert sent to students.
The accused rapist let the woman go around 9 p.m. after the sexual assault, telling her she had 15 seconds to leave or he would kill her. She flagged down a student on campus for help, and reported the incident to police while seeking medical treatment, the Florida Times-Union reports.
The woman was not named and police are still looking for the alleged attacker.
Gordon A. Bass Jr., director of campus security for JU, said in a statement the 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."
The alert was sent in compliance with the federal Jeanne Clery Act, Bass said, which requires colleges to alert their campus community of critical information to ensure public safety.
"Our campus is patrolled 24/7 by our security force, with supplementary patrols by off-duty JSO personnel," Bass added. "In concert with our JSO Zone officer, patrols have been stepped up in the aftermath of this incident."
Under the Clery Act, when a university knows about sexual violence on its campus, they are required "to take immediate action to eliminate the harassment, prevent its recurrence and address its effects."