Man accused of rape near UF arrested in Polk County

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - After more than a week on the run, deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service captured 24-year-old Christopher Gonzalez-Cruz.   He is accused of raping a 19-year-old woman near the University of Florida, in Gainesville.

Police said on September 11, Gonzalez-Cruz met the teenager in a bar in the midtown area, across the street from UF.  She got into his car where police said he attacked her. 

A officer with the University of Florida Police Department tried to intervene, but Gonzalez-Cruz left  the scene.. Gonzalez-Cruz was located on Monday, 135 miles away, near his brother's house in Eagle Lake in Polk County.

According to court documents, Gonzalez-Cruz was arrested for dating violence in April 2015. In that case, records show he was accused of breaking into a woman's home and standing over her while she slept.

"That's creepy,” said UF student Lauren Summerville.  "It definitely makes me feel better that's he in jail and off the streets." 

A judge ordered Gonzalez-Cruz to go to a rehabilitation program for domestic violence.

"He's currently in the Polk County Jail, awaiting extradition back to Alachua County, where he will face charges of sexual battery and kidnapping," said Ben Tobias, with the Gainesville Police Department.