BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – A Boynton Beach man is accused of raping the daughters of women with whom he was living.
Jackson Pridemore, 49, was arrested Thursday on charges of sexual battery on a child under the age of 12.
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Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said detectives learned that Pridemore raped a girl from the time she was 7 until she was 11.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a woman in Lexington, Kentucky, called police after finding her stepdaughter's diary and reading an entry, written in letter form and addressed to Pridemore, in which the girl wrote, "You raped me for about three years."
The woman told police that her 13-year-old stepdaughter used to live with her biological mother and her mother's boyfriend in Boynton Beach.
When confronted about the diary entry, the girl admitted to having been sexually abused by Pridemore.
The girl told police that Pridemore would take her into the master bedroom of their Boynton Beach home and rape her while her mother was at work.
During the investigation, detectives learned of two more incidents in which Pridemore was alleged to have sexually abused other girls.
One such incident took place in March 2013, when the girl was 9 or 10 years old. The girl claimed that Pridemore, who had been living with the girl's mother, entered the master bedroom while she was pretending to be asleep and touched her vagina. The girl said she didn't tell her mother right away because she was afraid that he would hurt her or her mother.
Pridemore denied the allegation when questioned by police in 2013.
"In all cases, Pridemore moved in with vulnerable single mothers of young girls and then sexually battered the children when he was babysitting them," Slater said Friday in a news release. "It should be noted that when Pridemore was taken into custody at his home west of Boynton Beach yesterday, he was found to be living with another single mother."
Police believe there may be more victims and are asking anyone with information to call detectives at 561-732-8116.