43-Year-Old Man Kept Florida Teen Locked In Bedroom: Cops

SAINT PETERSBURG, FL — A 43-year-old man was taken into custody Friday and accused of keeping a teenage girl locked in her Sarasota County bedroom for 18 months. The teenager was allegedly sexually molested and battered in the home.

Dwight Bainbridge was wanted for lewd or lascivious molestation, aggravated child abuse and sexual battery of a minor, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, which announced Bainbridge's arrest Friday. Bainbridge had been on the sheriff's most wanted list.

"Today we tracked him down in St. Pete thanks to the ongoing efforts and hard work of our Fugitive Apprehension Unit as well as our partners within the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force," the sheriff's office said.

The girl lived with Bainbridge and Jessica Brambilla, who was identified as Bainbridge's girlfriend. There were also four other children in the home, according to court documents.

Brambilla, 39, was arrested and booked into the Sarasota County Jail on Sept. 20. She was released on $50,000 bond later the same day, said Megan Krahe of the sheriff's office. Brambilla was charged with cruelty toward a child and aggravated child abuse.

Court documents said the girl, who is now 16, was allowed to leave her room twice a day to use the bathroom and eat. She "was only allowed to eat twice a day, and her meals consisted of plain oatmeal, two peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, two cups of water and multivitamins," the documents said.

The documents said the girl was kept in the room because Bainbridge and Brambilla believed she might bring boys into the home.

The teenager was home-schooled, but her lessons were taken away from her at times as a punishment. "She stated the longest her school privileges were taken away at one time was four months."

Court documents said the girl was later confined to her room 24 hours a day except once a week when she was allowed to bathe.

Police said when they interviewed the girl, who is now 16, she appeared pale, malnourished, dirty with "very poor" dental hygiene.

The sheriff's office said they found a padlock on the outside of the girl's bedroom, limited bedding and a bucket that contained urine.