5 rapes in less than 4 weeks in Jacksonville; one man arrested but others still on run

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has now responded to five rapes in less than four weeks. The rapes happened in different parts of the city, and two of them involved teenage victims.

Thanks to witnesses, an arrest was made in the latest case, but the other men remain on the loose.

Ollie Jones lives just a few blocks from the Brown Eastside Branch Library, the same place where the Sheriff's Office said a man tried to rob a woman and then raped her in her car.

“I'm afraid that, you know, it might happen to me and so I stay home most of the time,” Jones said.

The first rape happened on Sept. 27 at the Country Inn and Suites on Salisbury Road. A man robbed a woman and then raped her at gunpoint inside a hotel room.

JSO released surveillance images of the man and the car he used to get away.

On Oct. 9, a teenager reported being kidnapped near the 2100 block of West 45th Street. JSO said a man approached the victim in a car and threw a cellphone out of the car window. He got out of the car and forced the victim inside, drove her to the downtown area, possibly near Florida State College at Jacksonville, where police say he raped her.

The man is described as a light-skinned man, with a bald head, wearing rectangular-shaped glasses, whose face appeared to be dirty. He was seen driving a four-door dark blue sedan.

On Oct. 16, another rape happened, on Harrison Street near the Brown Eastside Branch Library. The victim said she was at the library to access the public Wi-Fi. While she was outside her car, a man approached her with a gun, attempted to rob her and then forced her into her car, where he sexually battered her.

JSO released a grainy photo of a possible witness with whom they’d like to speak.

The man is described as a black man, in his 30s, about 5 feet 11 inches tall with a dark complexion and a goatee. He was wearing dark pants and a dark hoodie.

On Tuesday, Oct. 17 there was another attack, this time on San Pablo Road. A woman told police she was just outside her apartment to get something from her car when a man approached her and asked to use her cellphone. The man then forced his way into her home and knocked her out. The victim said she woke up to find her clothing out of place and her apartment ransacked. JSO released a sketch in this case.

The most recent case happened on Saturday. A 13-year-old girl told police someone grabbed her by the shirt and dragged her into the woods near the 5900 block of 105th Street, where she was raped.

Thanks to witnesses, police arrested 39-year-old Bjorn Soyland and he’s been charged with sexual battery and kidnapping.

But with other alleged rapists still out there, Jones said she’s taking every precaution to stay safe.

“Very upset because I’m afraid to go out anywhere,” said Jones.

If you have information that could lead to an arrest in any of these cases, call JSO or, if you’d like to remain anonymous, call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.

Cox Media Group