Gators linebacker Cristian Garcia stops man from raping unconscious woman
- 8 years ago
GAINESVILLE — Police say University of Florida linebacker Cristian Garcia assisted in stopping a rape behind a Gainesville restaurant last Thursday morning.
Garcia was working security at 101 Cantina when he and another co-worker saw the rapist and the woman behind the bar’s dumpster.
He told GatorSports.com, “I was taking out the garbage, and I saw the man pressing the woman up against the dumpster. At first the guy said she was his girlfriend, but about five seconds later I realized the girl was unconscious. I turned around and pulled the guy by the shoulder and said, ‘Get off.’ That pretty much ended the situation then. He was intoxicated and attempted to throw some punches, but he slipped and busted his face on the wall.”
The assault was captured on video by another witness. According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report, the video shows that the woman was incapacitated and that the man pulled down her clothes, molested her with his fingers and raped her next to a dumpster.
Gainesville police arrested 34-year-old Christopher Shaw and charged him with sexual battery.
According to Garcia, Shaw’s friends were watching the assault take place and did nothing to stop it.
When the woman woke up at the hospital hours later, she told authorities she didn’t know Shaw and did not consent to have sex with him, according to the police report.
Garcia was working security at 101 Cantina when he and another co-worker saw the rapist and the woman behind the bar’s dumpster.
He told GatorSports.com, “I was taking out the garbage, and I saw the man pressing the woman up against the dumpster. At first the guy said she was his girlfriend, but about five seconds later I realized the girl was unconscious. I turned around and pulled the guy by the shoulder and said, ‘Get off.’ That pretty much ended the situation then. He was intoxicated and attempted to throw some punches, but he slipped and busted his face on the wall.”
The assault was captured on video by another witness. According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report, the video shows that the woman was incapacitated and that the man pulled down her clothes, molested her with his fingers and raped her next to a dumpster.
Gainesville police arrested 34-year-old Christopher Shaw and charged him with sexual battery.
According to Garcia, Shaw’s friends were watching the assault take place and did nothing to stop it.
When the woman woke up at the hospital hours later, she told authorities she didn’t know Shaw and did not consent to have sex with him, according to the police report.