Local

Jacksonville man accused of luring 2 women with cigarettes, raping them

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man is now in jail, accused of using cigarettes to lure his victims.

Two rape victims separately came forward to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office this month, but the JSO Sex Crimes Unit believes there may be more victims.

Lt. Sharon Scott said Charles Carter lured both women into an abandoned building on West Moncrief Road.

He was arrested on the same road on Sunday at the Ribault Grocery.

The attacks reportedly happened on Jan. 4, but JSO did not notify the public until after Carter’s arrest.

“They were not. We had some steps that we had to take to develop the suspect’s identity. Additionally, we were closely monitoring the area and, because it was a small geographical area, we also had our Zone 5 officers help us in that area to search for any potential suspects that matched the description,” said Scott.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was able to expedite testing on DNA evidence, which JSO said led them to Carter.

FDLE was able to match the evidence to DNA already on file because Carter is a convicted felon.

Last year, Carter was found guilty of felony battery and violating an injunction for protection against domestic violence.

He was found guilty of domestic battery in 2015 and criminal mischief in 2014.

This is Carter’s first arrest for a sex crime.

If you believe you were a victim of Carter, Scott wants you to call JSO’s Sex Crimes Unit at 904-630-2168.