A Florida man with the word ‘sacrifice’ tattooed across his forehead is going to trial for the alleged rape of a woman in which he forced her to have oral sex and mutilated her breast.
Bruce Whitehead, 55, is charged with sexual battery with a deadly weapon, attempted first-degree murder, kidnapping with intent to inflect harm and robbery, among other charges. The judge heard pretrial motions on Monday and jury selection is scheduled to being Tuesday, according to Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Whitehead walked up to the victim at an Orlando-area bar on Dec. 10, 2022, and offered her $850 to “paint her for an hour.” The woman told cops she got into his car where they drove around for awhile. Whitehead allegedly stopped the car and pulled her out at knife point and ordered her to lay down in the back seat. He then drove to a wooded area where he again forced her out and cut off her clothes with a knife, the affidavit said.
Whitehead allegedly bit off part of the victim’s breast and then tried to cut it, the affidavit said. He then allegedly forced the victim to have oral sex. He also reportedly burned the victim’s backside with a lit cigarette. The victim alleged Whitehead then began stabbing her chest. Realizing he was trying to kill her, the woman fought Whitehead off and ran away, the affidavit said.
She ran down the street and flagged down a passerby who called 911. Detectives were able to track down the suspect vehicle and later learned from the owner that Whitehead had borrowed it. Cops arrested Whitehead a few days later and he’s been in jail ever since.
CAPTURED and heading to jail! Bruce Whitehead, who raped and tried to murder a woman Dec. 10, was caught thanks to a tip at 7 a.m. today from an observant resident. pic.twitter.com/IgipT1KxRz
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) December 15, 2022
Whitehead also landed himself in trouble while in jail. A friend he previously met at a halfway house came across him earlier this year in the Orange County Jail. According to the friend, Whitehead gave him a piece of paper with the victim’s name and information on it. The friend alleged to prosecutors that Whitehead asked him to track her down and try to bribe her to not testify. Prosecutors charged Whitehead with witness intimidation but later dropped the case.
Whitehead, a registered sex offender, was convicted in the Jacksonville area of attempted murder, sexual battery with a weapon or force and kidnapping in 1986. He served 30 years in prison and released in 2007, Florida Department of Corrections records show. He also served about three years for a 2015 simple battery.
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