Gainesville Police arrested an employee at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire on Sunday morning in connection with the rape of a local 15-year-old girl.
Frank Steven Krause, a 20-year-old resident of Painesville, Ohio, was working at a nut and grill vendor during the fair Saturday. He allegedly talked her into going alone with him to a wooded area on 3220 NE 39th Ave., near the Alachua County Fairgrounds, around 8:30 p.m., according to a police report. Krause then reportedly sexually assaulted the girl, ignoring her pleas to stop.
Police found Krause after the girl gave police his phone number and other information, Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said. Krause admitted to having sex with the girl after his arrest just after 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the police report.
The girl sustained no additional physical injuries but received a forensic medical exam, Tobias said.
Krause was released from prison in Ohio on Sept. 15 after serving 18 months on a third-degree burglary charge, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s website. He was still under supervision when he was arrested in Gainesville.
Krause was taken to the Alachua County Jail on a sexual assault charge. As of press time, he is being held in lieu of a $150,000 bond.
Tobias said this was the only major crime at the fair this year, which observed its 29th year Jan. 24 - 25 and Jan. 30 - Feb. 1.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 2/3/2015 under the headline “Medieval faire vendor arrested, charged with sexual assault"]
