JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are hunting for a man they say sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl Monday evening in the woods off University Boulevard North near Jacksonville University.
The girl, who was badly beaten in the attack, remained in the hospital Tuesday with her attacker still on the loose. Her condition was not released.
Police said that the violent assault happened around 6:40 p.m. Monday. While it appeared the girl was out by herself, witnesses said her parents were in the area.
Searchers spent all day Tuesday combing through the area behind the Eagle Pointe Apartments.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said with only a vague description of the attacker, they're looking for any clue that could help them find a suspect.
Investigators are hoping someone can lead them to the person responsible.
As police continue to search for clues, people living in the apartment complex near the search said they are keeping a closer eye on their children.
The wooded area that was roped off by police Tuesday is faced by multiple buildings in the apartment complex. Neighbors said they are shocked not only that the sexual assault happened, but also that nobody heard or saw anything.
People living in the area say they are shaken, uneasy and startled that the attacker is still out there, and could possibly be in their backyard.
"It wasn't even dark outside. It's still daylight around 6. It doesn't get dark until almost 8 o'clock. That's very scary," one woman said.
The woman, who asked not to be identified because she knows the girl who was attacked, said that her children often play with the victim. She said that they weren't together Monday, but the attack has still has left her uneasy.
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She also said that she has talked to the 8-year-old girl's mother, who isn't doing well.
"Her mom is, she's just -- she's not coping. She can't cope," the woman said. "She's very, very hurt because all of these kids, they always stay in packs."
But, according to neighbors, the girl was alone Monday evening playing near the woods near the apartments.
"It's crazy. You can't even send your kids out where they live, where they're supposed to be safe. This is their safety net. It's just sad," the woman said. "These are kids. Now she can't even be -- her womanhood is taken from her. It's gone. It's just gone."
Officials with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said detectives are being extra sensitive getting information from the little girl.
"What they want to do is get to the victim and take care of the victim as best they can," News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said. "It's an 8-year-old who's just gone through a very traumatic experience."
Smith said investigating a case like this requires a very specific and delicate process.
All the girl was able to tell police was that a man dragged her into the woods, beat her severely and then sexually assaulted her.
"I think with children in general, experiencing something that difficult and that traumatic, it can be very difficult for a child to be able to put into words, to be able to articulate exactly what happened during the situation," child psychologist Dr. Jill Driest, with Keystone Behavioral Pediatrics, said. "Because it's so traumatic and stressful for them sometimes, it's very difficult to process what happened."
Officials have said there are several registered sex offenders in a 2-mile radius of the crime scene, which is something they will be looking into in their search for a suspect.
"Next, they'll go to the sexual offenders unit, because they track all of the sexual offenders in the city of Jacksonville. Go to that area and contact all the sexual offenders in that area to figure out where they were at the time," Smith said. "It's a process of elimination."
Investigators warned parents: Keep a very close eye on your children.
"I think most parents realize that the message is always, 'You keep a vigilant watch over your children,'" Sheriff Mike Williams said. "I mean, that's something that we always have to do every time."
Smith said children should be on the lookout for danger as well.
"The best thing they can do is be armed with the information of who to stay away from. And if they see that they are going to approach them, then they need to run," Smith said. "If they're coming to or from school, they have their book bag, they need to drop their book bag and do that -- run."
Another thing that has parents in the area concerned is that many of the children walk to school right across the street from the back of the complex on Justina Road. They said that if someone was willing to do this so close to buildings and where people might be, there is no telling what could happen when there are many more children walking to and from school in a couple weeks.
One neighbor said that she was hopeful this would be a wake-up call to the complex that more security is needed.
Mary Marx, president and CEO of Pace Center for Girls -- located just yards away from where the attack happened -- said the assault is a sign of a much bigger problem.
"We as a society need to be protecting our girls, but it's also -- what also goes through your mind is, we need to catch this perpetrator who committed such a heinous crime," Marx said. "Your heart goes out to the young girl and her family as the victim of such a terrible crime."
JSO is asking organizations like Pace to check surveillance video for signs of anything suspicious.
"For me, it's a question of all girls, and that all girls need to be protected and safe," Marx said. "And the fact that an 8-year-old girl is not safe playing outside of her own home -- it is inexcusable. As a society, we have a requirement to protect our girls."
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 866-845-TIPS.