Alachua resident arrested in rape of travel nurse

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Daniel Scott Young, 34, of Alachua, was arrested yesterday morning on one charge of sexual battery.

A travel nurse reported to police on November 7 that she was introduced to a man by a co-worker at a bar in Gainesville the previous evening. She was staying at a hotel, and the man asked if he could share her Uber because her hotel was closer to his home, so the ride would be less expensive. The nurse said there was no expectation of anything besides a shared ride.

Once they arrived at the hotel, the man asked if he could use the bathroom in her hotel room, and she agreed. After the man used the bathroom, he started kissing her and tried to remove her clothes. She objected, but he forcefully removed her clothes and penetrated her, putting her underwear in her mouth at one point because he said she was “getting too loud.”

The man eventually went to the bathroom again, and the woman sent messages to friends, asking for help. The man left after he came out of the bathroom, and hotel security cameras show a man leaving her room and getting in the back seat of a car, presumably another Uber.

The woman received medical treatment for injuries that were consistent with her story. Her co-worker received a message that appeared to be from Young’s Facebook account at 9:00 a.m. on November 7, about 7 hours after the crime occurred. The message read, “Lol what was your friend’s name again? She’s crazy. She had me walk the 4th and 3rd floors of both parking garages cause we went to the wrong one then couldn’t find her car.”

The victim was able to provide police with Young’s first name and phone number, and she picked his photo out of a line-up.

After Young was arrested, he claimed that he had gone to the hotel with the expectation of having sex but recalled the victim telling him she doesn’t have sex on the first date. He denied hitting her or putting anything in her mouth. The police report noted that his home in Turkey Creek is not closer to the victim’s hotel than it is to the bar. Young is being held on $100,000 bail.