Friday, May 16, 2008

Man who raped woman he met on Craigslist linked to other assault

A man coaxed an aspiring model into his car by flashing a fake police badge and then raped her at gunpoint, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

Bruce Martin, 36, is in Palm Beach County Jail after he was arrested Wednesday night.



according to the arrest report, Martin saw the 35-year-old woman's profile on Craigslist.com seeking a photographer to take modeling pictures. He called her and she agreed to meet him at Gateway Palms neighborhood on South Military Trail and Gateway Boulevard.

When she arrived, he showed up in a blue sports car, flashed a badge and told her to get in the car. He then pulled out a gun, drove her to a recreation center parking lot on Charleston Shores Boulevard near Lantana and raped her, according to the report. She escaped from the vehicle with the used condom and screamed to a maintenance worker for help but he didn't speak English. Another passer-by saw her barefoot and crying and stopped to take her back to her vehicle. She later identified Martin's car and picked him out of a photo lineup.

The sheriffs office said Martin was linked to another rape of a woman he met online, this time in a live chat room. He arranged to meet her in the same place and same car as the first victim, then claimed he was an undercover officer and pulled out a gun. He took the 24 year old waitress to a different location about a mile away and raped her, the sheriffs office said.

The sheriffs office said he was arrested at his home, where he lives with his mother. There may be more victims. Anyone with information should call 688 3400 or crime stoppers at 800 458 TIPS.

1 comments:

Unknown said...

The first thing I learned as an intelligence officer was not to accept a meet like that. I’m glad they caught the bastard.