A chilling case of abduction and assault has shaken the community in central Minnesota, as Joseph Bragg, 28, faces serious charges after allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl. Bragg is charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal sexual conduct, following the harrowing events on Wednesday afternoon.

According to authorities, Bragg abducted the young girl after she got off her school bus in Zimmerman, Minnesota, around 4 p.m. The child’s mother became alarmed when she learned that her daughter wasn’t with her father or grandmother, prompting her to contact the police. Surveillance footage from a neighbor’s doorbell camera showed the girl walking home from the bus stop before she turned out of view, raising immediate concern.

As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that Bragg had interacted with the girl’s mother on Facebook months earlier. During their brief exchange, he had inquired about her children and expressed a desire to have kids of his own. The mother had blocked him after that conversation, but the unsettling interaction appeared to have been a prelude to the kidnapping.