Authorities investigating the case against a man charged with kidnapping a 7-year-old girl in Zimmerman, Minn., and sexually assaulting her in a Plymouth hotel room this month are asking the public to reach out if they used him as a nanny for their children.

Joseph Andrew Bragg (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office said Monday investigators have determined that Joseph Andrew Bragg, 28, communicated with parents through social media, offering to provide nanny or daycare services.

Bragg, of International Falls, Minn., contacted the 7-year-old girl’s mother last month through Facebook and said he worked in child care, the charges against him say. He asked the mother if she knew anyone in the Zimmerman/Princeton area looking for such services, before the mother blocked him on Facebook.

The mother’s information led investigators to identifying Bragg as a suspect in the disappearance of the girl, who was abducted Jan. 21 after she got off her school bus and led to an Amber Alert. She was found with Bragg about 12:30 a.m. the next day after a traffic stop in Albert Lea, Minn.

Bragg is charged with kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual assault of a child and remains jailed ahead of a next hearing set for Tuesday morning.

Investigators are asking anyone who hired Bragg as a nanny to contact them through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tip line at 651-793-2465.

The sheriff’s office is leading the investigation with assistance from the BCA and FBI.

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