Man Indicted With Kidnapping Seven-Year-Old Zimmerman Girl

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a northern Minnesota man for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a Zimmerman girl last January.

The indictment charges 29-year-old Joseph Bragg of International Falls with kidnapping the girl and the production of child sexual abuse material.

Court records allege Bragg abducted the seven-year-old after she got off the school bus on January 21st.

Sherburne County Dispatch received a call reporting the girl missing at about 6:30 p.m. A community notification was issued at about 9:45 p.m., and an Amber Alert was issued at 11:40 p.m. after information was developed that she likely had been abducted.

Through investigation and use of technology, investigators identified a white Dodge Ram pickup as a suspect vehicle and issued an emergency alert to law enforcement agencies just after 12:30 a.m.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, a sergeant with the Albert Lea Police Department stopped a vehicle matching the description with a girl in the back seat partially covered by a suitcase. The officer arrested Bragg and freed the girl.

Authorities say Bragg's phone also contained several videos and photos of child sexual abuse material.

Bragg made his initial appearance in the United States Federal Court on Thursday. He's being held in the Sherburne County Jail without bail until his case proceeds through the federal court system.

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Filed Under: u.s. attorney's office district of minnesota