JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Investigators are asking anyone who believes they may have been victimized by 55-year-old Hugh Perry to come forward, as new details highlight a pattern of crimes spanning more than a decade.<\/p>\n
Perry is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of sexual battery in September. The conviction stems from a 2022 assault in Jacksonville Beach.<\/p>\n
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, the investigation began after a woman reported what happened to her through the Women\u2019s Center of Jacksonville\u2019s SAFE Program. Police say the woman told investigators she had been out the night before but woke up the next day, unsure how she got home. Through forensic analysis, detectives were able to identify Perry as the suspect.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Police say the 2022 case was not isolated.<\/p>\n Investigators allege Perry committed a similar crime in 2013, and in 2023, while out on release ahead of his trial for the 2022 assault, police say Perry was suspected of drugging another woman\u2019s drink and stealing her belongings.<\/p>\n Now, detectives with JSO\u2019s Special Assault Unit are urging anyone who believes they may have been assaulted by Perry to come forward.<\/p>\n \u201cSerial rapists do this horrible crime over and over again,\u201d said Teresa Miles, Executive Director of the Women\u2019s Center. \u201cIt\u2019s a crime of isolation, so it\u2019s very difficult for survivors to come forward because there\u2019s no one who witnesses it.\u201d<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Miles says fear, trauma, and familiarity with an offender can all delay reporting, sometimes for years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe start with believing,\u201d Miles said. \u201cHopefully that healing and believing will strengthen a survivor enough to pursue justice, if that\u2019s what justice looks like for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Advancements in DNA technology have also changed what accountability can look like. Miles says evidence can now be preserved for up to 50 years, even if a survivor is not ready to move forward right away.<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n The Women\u2019s Center of Jacksonville<\/a> says survivors can receive a forensic exam within 120 hours of an assault, whether they have showered or not. Its hotline operates 24 hours a day, all days of the year, with trained advocates available to help survivors take their next steps.<\/p>\n Police say anyone who believes they may have been assaulted by Hugh Perry is encouraged to contact JSO\u2019s Special Assault Unit directly at 904-630-2168.<\/p>\n The Women\u2019s Center 24\/7 rape crisis hotline can be reached at (904) 721-7273.<\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Investigators are asking anyone who believes they may have been victimized by 55-year-old Hugh Perry…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":449878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,3188,723,7324,206773,7310,7327,7325,207440,207439,207438,7326,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7322,7321,67986],"class_list":{"0":"post-451785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cbs47","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-fox30","14":"tag-hugh-perry","15":"tag-jacksonville","16":"tag-jacksonville-fl","17":"tag-northeast-florida","18":"tag-rape-hotline","19":"tag-resources-for-rape-victims","20":"tag-serial-rapist","21":"tag-southeast-georgia","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa","28":"tag-wfox","29":"tag-wjax","30":"tag-womens-center-of-jacksonville"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115731490819263211","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/449878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}