Man arrested for allegedly threatening to ambush and rape female real estate agents in multiple Mississippi counties
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday that a man wanted for allegedly threatening to ambush and rape female real estate agents in several counties across Mississippi, is in their custody.
Convicted sex offender Frank Mainka of Scott County has a long history of cyberstalking dating back to 2007.
But it was during the first week of January 2022 when Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins says a local realtor contacted him about receiving a series of disturbing calls.
“Multiple calls, multiple text messages and the graphic nature of the description of the violent events that he wanted to commit,” the sheriff says.
The woman says a man threatened that he was going to have his wife set up an appointment with her to view a property where he said he would then show up and rape the real estate agent.
“While the deputy was there (talking to the victim), he called again and the deputy firsthand heard the conversation over speakerphone that he was communicating with the victim,” Sheriff Hawkins says.
Using phone records and social media posts, the sheriff’s department identified the suspect as the 44-year-old Mainka.
“Once we identified him and identified where he was making these calls from, we got the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations involved in this case with us,” Sheriff Hawkins says.
The suspect claims he has carried out these threats of ambush and rape at least four times in the past. Twice on the coast and twice in Starkville.
“We have made contact with Starkville,” the sheriff says. “They have not had any reports of victims in Starkville.”
The sheriff says they are working with other law enforcement agencies to figure out just how many people Mainka allegedly targeted and if he did in fact carry out any of these threats.
“Different agencies around the state who also have had similar acts of this activity going on,” he says. “And they’re looking at him as a suspect in their county as well. ”
Investigators say Mainka fled to Arkansas but was arrested over the weekend on charges of cyberstalking in Lowndes and Lamar counties and failure to register as a sex offender in Scott County.
“He made the statement that he’s committed these offenses in the past, and that he wasn’t called for doing that. So if we’ve had victims that have been involved in this kind of activity, we would sure like to know who they are.”
Sheriff Hawkins says Mainka is being held in the Lowndes County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
He asks that any other victims or those with information on Mainka call the sheriff’s department (662-328-6788) or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers (1-800-530-7151).
