Gainesville man charged with rape

Staff report

Updated on March 10 with pre-trial detention information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Robert Eugene White IV, 23, was arrested yesterday and charged with rape.

The arrest report includes no details about why White was in the victim’s apartment, but the victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that she woke up to find White sexually battering her at about 4:30 a.m. on February 6. She said she pushed him off her, and he ran out of her bedroom and barricaded himself inside a bathroom; he reportedly ran out of the apartment barefoot before officers arrived.

A witness said he went to the bathroom to confront White after the victim said he had sexually battered her, and White came out of the bathroom saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” before running out of the apartment.

The officer reported that White had left behind a backpack and his shoes, socks, and pants, indicating that he had left in a hurry.

An officer spoke with White by phone, and White reportedly confirmed that he had left his backpack at the victim’s apartment and had also left his scooter at the front entrance of the complex, so he called an Uber after leaving the apartment. He reportedly agreed to come to the Gainesville Police Department to get his backpack, but he did not show up; he was arrested a day later.

Post Miranda, White reportedly declined to speak to officers.

White has been charged with sexual battery. He has no local criminal history, and Judge Mitchell Bishop ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial. On March 10, Judge Robert Groeb granted the motion and ordered him held without bail until trial.

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.