Florida man who allegedly raped and mutilated a woman faces new charge after paying inmate to 'take care' of her, police say



A Florida man accused of raping and mutilating a woman is facing new charges after prosecutors said he tried to prevent his victim from testifying during his upcoming trial.

54-year-old Bruce Whitehead was arrested in 2022 after allegedly raping a woman at knifepoint after he picked her up near a strip bar on the South Orange Blossom Trail, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said Whitehead then bit the woman, cut her with a knife, and burned her. He allegedly tried to stab her in the chest, but the blade of the knife collapsed into the handle. She was able to escape and get help.

Whitehead has a distinctive and massive forehead tattoo reading "Sacrifice," and he tried to hide it by wearing a hat. An "observant resident" spotted him anyway and alerted police, who were able to arrest him.

He was charged with a slew of crimes, including sexual battery with a deadly weapon and physical force and attempted felony murder with a weapon. One Orange County detective called him a "monster."

New charge of tampering

Prosecutors filed a new charge of witness tampering after an assistant state attorney found that he had allegedly asked another inmate in jail to "take care" of the victim after he was to be released.

Investigators said they were initially afraid that Whitehead was asking the inmate to kill the victim, but they later surmised that he was allegedly trying to pay her off so that she would refuse to testify against him. He reportedly believed that the charges would be dropped without her testimony.

The criminal complaint also said that Whitehead admitted to the other inmate that he had been filing new motions in the case in order to buy time for his accomplice to get to the witness.

Whitehead was accused of giving the inmate a note with the victim's information, including her name and address. That inmate told prosecutors that he was afraid if he didn't follow through with Whitehead's order that he would find someone to kill the victim.

The suspect had been previously released from prison after being found no longer a threat to the community by two doctors.

Whitehead's trial is scheduled to begin in May.

Here's a local news report about the charges:

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Florida man charged with brutally raping and mutilating woman following release from prison after no longer being found a danger by 2 doctors



A Florida man who was arrested for allegedly raping and mutilating a woman had been released from prison earlier this year after two doctors found him to no longer be a threat to the community.

54-year-old Bruce Whitehead was arrested on Thursday in the Orlando area for the alleged attack on a woman. An arrest affidavit said Whitehead had arranged to pay the woman $850 to let him "paint her for an hour." Investigators say she got into his car, he drove her to a wooded area, then raped her at knifepoint and tried to murder her.

She was able to escape and seek help from bystanders in a nearby neighborhood. Whitehead was spotted later and arrested.

An investigation from WJXT-TV found that Whitehead had been released after being found to no longer be a threat. He was serving a sentence for a 1986 attack where he assaulted a woman at knifepoint in Jacksonville and stabbed her 25 times.

The man had committed that crime only a week after he had been released for another similar crime.

Whitehead was accused of rape but had pleaded down to a count of aggravated battery. He served only 35 days and was on put probation for just a week when he committed the knife attack in 1986.

"In my opinion, within reasonable medical certainty, Mr. Whitehead is one of the most dangerous and violent individuals I've ever evaluated," testified an expert at the time.

Whitehead was charged with sexual battery, attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery, and armed robbery for the latest incident. Police did not specify how the latest victim had been allegedly mutilated in the attack.

"In my time here at the sheriff's office, this is probably one of the more egregious offenses," said Cpl. Evan Avila of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

"Personally, I would qualify him as a monster," he added. "That's my personal take."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said the victim is expected to recover.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Man accused in Orlando attack was on probation for battery when he committed 1986 sexual assault...www.youtube.com