A city employee was attacked early Wednesday morning by a homeless man while entering her workplace at City Hall.
At about 7:30 a.m., as the woman walked toward City Hall, at 200 E. University Ave., she noticed a man standing at the doorway. When she tried to enter the building, Duan Deshawn Freeman, 33, pushed her to the ground and climbed on top of her, according to a Gainesville Police report.
Freeman used his left hand to cover her mouth in an attempt to muffle her screaming and his right hand to try removing her bra, blouse and pants, according to the report.
Multiple people from inside City Hall, including a city employee, who works on the second floor, heard the woman’s screams and rushed outside to help. The employee said while Freeman was on top of the woman, his pants were down, completely exposing his butt, according to the report.
As people rushed over to aid the woman, Freeman ran away, according to the report. After identifying him, investigators found Freeman at about 11:33 a.m. at the St. Francis House homeless shelter, said GPD spokesperson Officer Ben Tobias.
The woman, whose name has been kept confidential as of press time, sustained abrasions and bruises on her back, legs, hands and feet, according to the report.
“(The) victim was able to injure her attacker — which left fresh identifiable marks on him,” Tobias wrote in an email.
Freeman faces a charge of attempted sexual battery. As of press time, he remains in the Alachua County Jail, awaiting his first court appearance Thursday morning.
Contact David Hoffman at dhoffman@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter: @hoffdavid123.
