Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Donald Mervin Small, 56, was arrested yesterday on a sworn complaint alleging that he raped a man in a downtown park on October 28.

The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that he drove downtown in the early morning hours of October 28 with some friends who went to a bar; he said he did not join them because he did not bring his ID card with him. One of his friends told the officer that a man matching Small’s description approached them and that the victim said the man was a friend of his. The friend went to a bar, leaving the victim with the man.

The victim, however, told the officer that although he said the man was his friend, he had only spoken with him once and didn’t even know his name. He said he and the man went for a walk and that he was talkative because he was “tipsy,” having just left a party where he’d had alcoholic beverages.

The two men reached Roper Park, where the man allegedly grabbed the victim’s scarf and ripped it off him. The victim reported that he tried to get the scarf back but was disoriented and confused; he said he remembered being on his back with his pants down, where he pleaded with the man to stop what he was doing and leave him alone. He said the man spoke to him in a calm tone, telling him to calm down and relax.

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The victim said the man anally penetrated him and that it felt like it lasted “10 minutes.” He said he managed to get away and make his way to the back entrance of a club, where a security guard helped find his friend. The friend notified a nearby GPD officer that the victim had been sexually assaulted.

A detective canvassed the downtown area, looking for a man matching the description provided by the victim and his friend. Staff at St. Francis House suggested it could be Small, and the victim identified Small as his attacker in a photo line-up.

Small has 22 felony convictions (one violent) and 18 misdemeanor convictions (one violent). He has served nine prison sentences, all but one for offenses in Alachua County. Bail has been set at $200,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.