A Minnesota man, aged 28, was taken into custody early Thursday morning after a traffic stop revealed he was transporting a 7-year-old girl who had been abducted and sexually assaulted. The arrest occurred as he was traveling toward Iowa.
The suspect, Joseph Andrew Bragg, is now facing charges of kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to a report by KSTP.
The young girl was reported missing on Wednesday evening. She didn’t return home after being dropped off by her school bus at approximately 3:40 p.m. Concerned, her mother reached out to the girl’s father and grandmother, who confirmed they had not seen her, prompting a call to law enforcement.
In a twist to the investigation, the girl’s mother disclosed an unsettling online exchange with Bragg back in December, as detailed in court documents. She recounted that Bragg had sent her a Facebook friend request, which she accepted under the assumption he was a mutual acquaintance. However, she soon discovered that he had simply found her profile and wanted to initiate contact.
Bragg’s messages quickly turned personal, inquiring about whether she had children and expressing a desire for children himself. He mentioned working in childcare and sought to know if she was aware of anyone needing such services.
Uncomfortable with the interaction, the mother decided to block Bragg. The girl’s father also confirmed that he had no prior knowledge of Bragg.
The criminal complaint says that investigators linked the Facebook profile to Bragg, learned he had access to a rental pickup truck, and started tracking his cell phone, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The cell phone showed him traveling south in Interstate 35 toward Iowa, and police in Albert Lea spotted the truck at a truck stop and stopped it, finding the missing girl in the back seat.
Location data on the rental truck placed it near the victim’s home in Zimmerman around the time she was abducted, and it was in the same spot the day before. The court documents also say that Bragg took the girl to a hotel in Plymouth after the abduction.
The victim told investigators that Bragg raped her.
