DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Six women reported they were raped in just the first week of spring break in Daytona Beach. One of the rapes happened in a bathroom stall at the county's Ocean Center. So far, police have arrested one man.
Daytona Beach police and tourism promoters said there are more students than there have been in several years and more attacks in this week than in the previous two months. Most of the reports are coming from the tourist zone, which is a half-mile stretch of hotels, bars and the beach.
In just one week, six women or girls reported being sexually attacked in Daytona Beach. It coincides with a spring break attendance estimated to be up by 25 percent over last year. And, in five of the six cases, police say alcohol or prescription pills played a part.
"Girl meets guy, willingly leaves the bar with him, passes out, wakes up and realizes they had sex," Chief Mike Chitwood said. "Just because she's drunk doesn't give you the right to take advantage of her. And that's what we're seeing here."
Donco Mitrov, a local resident, is the only man arrested so far. Employees at the Plaza Hotel said they caught him in the act in a hallway.
Two reports came from the Desert Inn, including one from a 14-year-old girl. A woman reported being attacked on the beach at the ocean deck. Police said an attack at the Ocean Center is the only one that doesn't fit the mold, a 37-year-old who was pulled into a restroom.
"It doesn't surprise me cause I go to IU, Indiana University, so I've witnessed girls getting raped there," student Christy Davis said.
Students WFTV talked to didn't seem fazed by the number of incidents, which is already one ahead of last year. Police do have extra officers around bars at night and said some hotels have hired off-duty police for security, but most of the attacks happen behind closed doors where they would be hard to stop.
"That's alarming. You come down here on spring break and you meet some guy and you're playing Russian roulette when you're out there doing that," Chitwood said.
Police have a suspect in one of the other cases. They are taking every report seriously, but said it may be difficult to press charges because the men usually say the sex was consensual.
WFTV
