Man Accused Of 'Horrific Acts" In Winter Haven, Lakeland

WINTER HAVEN, FL -- A Knoxville, Tennessee man has been accused of "horrific acts toward children under the age of 12" in connection with incidents that occurred in Winter Haven and Lakeland, according to Winter Haven police. Thirty-seven-year-old Manuel Tavis McGhee was charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 years of age.

"The charges stem from repeated sexual abuse on two children when McGhee lived in Winter Haven," according to Jamie Brown of the Winter Haven Police Department. "The investigation started in late 2018 when a complaint came from the mother of one of the victims ... stating that her daughter informed her of abuse and named McGhee as the suspect."

The spokesperson said the first victim is a 15-year-old girl who told her mother that McGhee had sexually abused her from the time she was 5 to 11 years of age. McGhee had already moved out of the area by the time the girl spoke to police late last year. The second victim is the girl's brother, who is several years older.

"I am so proud of our detectives and their tenacity to ensure that there are no more children that this monster can hurt," said Winter Haven Public Safety Director Charlie Bird. "The path of emotional and physical destruction he caused is reprehensible and we will do everything within our power to make sure he will never be able to hurt another child again."

Brown said the girl revealed "extremely horrific and explicit details" of the abuse she incurred from age five. "She also told investigators that her brother ... who is a couple of years older than her, had endured the same type of abuse throughout those same years."

Brown said the Lakeland Police Department conducted an investigation in 2013 involving McGhee and two other victims in Lakeland but that investigation did not result in prosecution.

"Both incidents were reported and investigated with formal charges ultimately dropped," said the spokesperson. "As Winter Haven investigators were reviewing the Lakeland reports, it was revealed that McGhee said that he was accused of similar acts in 2006 while he was in the Army stationed at Fort Bragg."

Winter Haven investigators obtained a copy of the incident report from North Carolina and learned that McGhee had been charged and arrested there on 15 counts of sexual battery on a child. Those charges were later dropped.

"The incidents were very similar to the incidents that occurred in the Winter Haven case," Brown said. "The Cumberland County Superior Court turned over their prosecution to the U.S. Army, however during the military review, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence and McGhee's denial of all allegations."

The brother of the Winter Haven victim told police that his abuse started when he was 8 or 9 in North Carolina and continued in Winter Haven and Lakeland. The boy told police he had been afraid to provide details of his abuse while McGhee was still living in Florida.

"Winter Haven detectives didn't stop there. Based on information gained from reviewing the case in North Carolina, they traveled to Georgia to make contact with another victim who was identified in the North Carolina report," Brown said. "This victim reported that when she was 9-years-old, McGhee abused her and the pattern was identical to the other victims that were interviewed."

A sibling of the Georgia victim detailed abuse in a separate interview with Winter Haven detectives, according to Brown.

"Based on the totality of the statements made by numerous victims across multiple agencies, Winter Haven detectives obtained a warrant for the arrest of Manuel Tavis McGhee," Brown added. "He was taken into custody in Knoxville, Tennessee and is awaiting extradition back to Florida."