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Two men arrested in robberies, assaults in escort meetings

 
Published Sept. 25, 2014

TAMPA — Hillsborough County detectives arrested two men Tuesday night who used backpage.com to arrange meetings with escorts but instead robbed and assaulted the women, the Sheriff's Office said.

On Sunday, Ikeem Taylor and Corey Coleman scheduled a date with a 20-year-old woman who advertised her services on the classified advertising website, according to sheriff's detectives.

Coleman drove Taylor to the first woman's house about 2:50 p.m. When she answered the door, Taylor pointed a gun at her head and forced her back into the residence, a sheriff's report said. Taylor then raped the victim and made off with a few video games and a laptop computer, according to deputies.

The second incident on Tuesday progressed in much the same way, according to the Sheriff's Office. Coleman and Taylor again used backpage.com to arrange a meeting, this time with a 31-year-old woman. Coleman drove, and Taylor got into the woman's home by pointing a gun at her head. Taylor forced her to perform oral sex on him, took cash and the woman's cellphone, and left in a car with Coleman, the Sheriff's Office said.

Backpage.com came under fire in May 2013 when Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd accused the site of facilitating organized prostitution and human trafficking.

The first woman was able to provide deputies with a description of the car, and the second woman recalled a partial license plate number, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Detectives also obtained security footage from a camera near one woman's home.

Coleman was identified after detectives found the stolen items in a pawn shop and reviewed the transaction records. Deputies arrested him at a gas station at Falkenburg Road and State Road 60, and arrested Taylor at a nearby Red Roof Inn.

Taylor, 19, is charged with two counts of sexual battery, home invasion robbery and armed false imprisonment, and one count of dealing in stolen property and false information on a pawnbroker form. Coleman, 20, is charged with two counts of home invasion robbery and one count of sexual battery, dealing in stolen property and armed false imprisonment. Both suspects, who live west of Brandon, will be arraigned this morning.