A Tampa man has been charged with raping a teenage girl in Okeechobee County, then tying her to a tree and taking her baby.
Kevin McGruder, 20, is facing charges of sexual battery, kidnapping, child neglect, false imprisonment and battery.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, deputies began investigating on Feb. 12, when the teenager's mother reached out to authorities in Okeechobee County. When deputies responded, they found the home was in disarray with evidence of a physical altercation. The girl and her baby were not at the home.
The teenager was later located at an Okeechobee hospital. Deputies said McGruder had taken the teenager and her baby against her will, and that during the course of their journey, McGruder raped the girl.
Deputies said McGruder then tied the girl to a tree with an electrical cord and left her in a wooded area in Okeechobee County, taking the baby with him.
The teenager was able to get free, and she was picked up by a passer-by and taken to a convenience store, where she contacted law enforcement, deputies said. The girl, who had also been beaten, was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Two weeks later, on Feb. 27, authorities in Osceola County found McGruder and the baby near the Desert Inn in Yeehaw Junction and took him into custody, returning him to Okeechobee County.
On March 9, authorities returned McGruder to Hillsborough County. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, where he remains without bail.