A Jacksonville man is in jail nearly 13 years after he was accused of raping a stranger.
Bruce Allen Taylor is suspected of at least two other rapes since then.
The first rape was reported in 2006 on Edison Avenue in Jacksonville’s Lackawanna neighborhood, within a block of Pinedale Elementary.
The victim told the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office the rapist also cut her with a box cutter.
Neighbor Brenda McClanaghan said she’s relieved a man has been arrested for the rape, which was reported on her street.
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But she’s surprised the arrest took this long.
“Now that’s crazy. I mean, come on. Something should have been done a long time ago,” said McClanaghan.
A woman reported the Edison Avenue rape in 2006 and did a rape kit, which JSO sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.
In 2011, Taylor’s DNA was collected at a state prison.
FDLE matched it to DNA from the 2006 rape kit and another Jacksonville rape kit from 2007.
A FDLE spokesperson said the agency notified JSO about the matches, but JSO denies it.
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“For unknown reasons we never received a report of a hit in 2011,” JSO spokesperson Officer Melissa Bujeda told Action News Jax in an email.
Then in 2017, FDLE told JSO its lab matched Taylor’s DNA to a third Jacksonville rape kit from 2008.
That kit was only tested after Jacksonville got a new grant to send out previously untested kits.
Action News Jax asked JSO why Taylor was not arrested for another year and a half.
“A DNA hit is only one piece of an investigation. Many other investigative pieces need to take place which includes the tracking down of victims. Fortunately, we were able to track down the victim from the 2006 case and make contact. After discussion with the detective assigned, the victim had the courage to participate in the case which led to the arrest of the suspect,” said Bujeda in an email to Action News Jax.
Taylor has only been charged in the 2006 rape.
A #Jacksonville man suspected in at least three rapes since 2006 has been arrested. How FDLE tells me an arrest for a DIFFERENT crime helped connect him to the rapes, all new at 5:30 on CBS47 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/Zw7PlLXNhP
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) January 25, 2019
Bujeda said the victim in the 2008 case did not want to talk to investigators.
“If at any time the victim contacts us, we would be able to review the case and pursue the investigation,” said Bujeda.
Bujeda said investigators have recently found the 2007 victim in another state; that investigation is ongoing.
A #Jacksonville man is in jail right now, nearly 13 years after he's accused of raping a stranger at knife-point. I found out he's now suspected of at least two other rapes since then. I'll have that story for you all new at 5:30 on CBS47 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/uAqN45Mo2G
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) January 25, 2019
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