Detectives:Man met Lakeland teen through MySpace and Sexually Battered Her:
That distinguished looking gentleman at right is one 39-year-old Richard Gagnon Jr. He’s been arrested for performing sexual acts on a 14-year-old girl that he met over MySpace. Gagnon is accused of making several trips from Fort Lauderdale to Lakeland, Florida to have sex with the girl.
Detectives say Gagnon sexually battered her on several of those trips. Gagnon admitted to investigators that he knew the victim was 14 years old.
During the most recent incident, on Friday, investigators say the girl left her Lakeland home around 11:30 pm while her mom was sleeping.
The victim agreed to meet Gagnon, and the two drove together to the Motel 6 located at 3120 US Hwy 98 North in Lakeland.
When the girl’s mother woke up in the morning, investigators say, she found a note written by the victim girl saying that she had left and would return in a week.
The mother called the Sheriff’s Office, and detectives, after talking to the victim’s friends, learned their location.
Gagnon is facing numerous charges including traveling to meet a minor and enticing a minor via the internet.