Gainesville man arrested for attempted sexual battery on New Year’s Eve

Staff report

Updated on June 11 with bail information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Xavier Hreben, 29, was arrested on June 5 and charged with attempted sexual battery of an intoxicated woman in an incident that began at a downtown bar on New Year’s Eve.

The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that she and a friend went downtown to a bar on New Year’s Eve, and she became very intoxicated and “blacked out for a good bit.” She said she walked outside and was vomiting when Hreben and his girlfriend approached her and offered to help.

The officer reported that the victim’s friend walked outside at that point and saw Hreben helping the victim order an Uber, and then the victim, Hreben, and Hreben’s girlfriend got into the Uber.

The officer obtained a search warrant for Uber data at that time and location, and the only match was a request for an Uber X from Hreben’s account at 1:07 a.m. on January 1. Cameras in the vicinity also reportedly showed Hreben, Hreben’s girlfriend, and the victim getting into a car at about 1:33 a.m. near the bar. The officer noted that the victim was “stumbling and obviously intoxicated.”

At about 1:47 a.m., the victim’s doorbell camera reportedly showed her, Hreben, and Hreben’s girlfriend entering the victim’s apartment, and the victim still appeared to be intoxicated. The officer noted that Hreben is clearly shown on the video.

At 3:31 a.m., the victim reportedly texted her friend and said Hreben was creepy because he was flirting with her. She said she told Hreben that she is not attracted to men, and he responded, “You’re too pretty and sexy to be gay.”

The victim let Hreben and his girlfriend sleep on her couch, and then she went to her bedroom to sleep. At about 5 a.m., the victim said, she woke up to find Hreben in her bed, with his hand inside her underwear, trying to penetrate her. She said she told him to stop, he asked if he could perform oral sex on her, she said no, and he left.

The victim reportedly had Hreben’s phone number because he texted her while he was at her apartment, and a subpoena reportedly confirmed that the phone number belonged to Hreben.

The officer searched for information on Hreben in law enforcement databases and reportedly found a sexual battery case out of Hillsborough County from 2023 in which Hreben is listed as the defendant; the case was eventually dismissed.

The victim completed a sexual assault kit, and the results came back in May, reportedly showing that DNA from a male donor was found on both the victim’s underwear and her genitals; the officer noted that Hreben was the only male in the apartment, and the victim said that because she is not attracted to men, there should be no male DNA near her genitals. Based on the victim’s blood alcohol concentration when she went to the hospital the next day, the officer estimated that it was about 0.124% at the time of the alleged incident, indicating that she was too intoxicated to provide consent.

Hreben has been charged with attempted sexual battery. His criminal history is not posted on the court’s website because the charge is a sexual crime. He is being held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial. On June 11, Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard denied the motion and set bail at $50,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.