Polk County detectives have arrested a man they say raped two women he met on MySpace.
Travis Lane Bragg, of 2213 Ninth St. S.E., Winter Haven, is charged with two counts of sexual battery.
In a news release, Polk County sheriff's detectives said they have linked Bragg to two rapes - one this past weekend and one in May 2008.
Over the weekend, detectives interviewed a woman at Winter Haven Hospital who said she had become friends with Bragg on the popular social networking site. He visited her home Friday night and forced her to have sex, the woman told detectives.
Detectives realized that the woman's story was similar to that of a woman from Lake Alfred who reported being raped by a MySpace acquaintance in May 2008, according to the news release.
The Lake Alfred woman had told police Bragg forced her to have sex on May 17, 2008. He was driving her home from a shopping center in Lakeland and pulled the car over in an isolated area, she said.
That case had been closed because the woman was uncooperative, according to the news release. Now detectives have reopened it, and the woman has provided a sworn statement to investigators.
"With two victims coming forward, we've learned the Bragg has used a social media site to lure his victims," said Sheriff Grady Judd. "And now we need the public's help. There may be other victims, and we want to hear from them."
Anyone with additional information in these cases is urged to contact Detective Diane Kent at (863) 534-6379 or (863) 534-6200.
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