Man arrested for raping homeless woman

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Richard William Blackwelder, 45, has been charged with sexual battery for allegedly raping a homeless woman.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that the victim is a homeless woman who always sleeps at the same abandoned building; the victim said she only knew Blackwelder as a friend of her boyfriend and she had never been romantically involved with him, but Blackwelder knew where she slept.

The victim told the officer that she was alone on the night of June 17 or early morning of June 18, 2025, when she awakened to find her pants pulled down halfway; she looked up and saw Blackwelder standing over her, completely naked, with his genitals exposed. She said she immediately challenged Blackwelder, asking him what he was doing, and without saying a word, Blackwelder quickly grabbed his clothing, pillow, and blanket and walked away.

The victim reported the incident, and a sexual assault kit was completed at Shands.

The results came back in October 2025, and they reportedly showed DNA results from the victim and at least one male.

About a week later, a deputy went to the Alachua County Jail, where Blackwelder was being held on an unrelated case, and interviewed Blackwelder.

Post Miranda, Blackwelder reportedly said he had met the victim through her boyfriend, but he adamantly denied ever having sex with the victim; he said he didn’t know why she would make that accusation.

In November 2025, deputies learned that the male DNA from the sexual assault kit matched Blackwelder’s sample, which “directly contradicts [Blackwelder’s] statement that he never had [or] attempted to have sex with the [victim].”

A warrant for Blackwelder’s arrest was issued in April 2026, and he was arrested on June 1, 2026, in Temple Terrace, Florida, after allegedly giving a false name to a Temple Terrace Police Department officer during a consensual encounter.

Blackwelder has been charged with sexual battery. He has seven felony convictions and three misdemeanor convictions; he has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2002. He also has an unspecified out-of-state history. On August 28, Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard granted a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him 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.