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NJ Man, 70, Sexually Assaulted Children In His Care, Lived In TN With Fake Name For 3 Decades

A North Jersey man sexually assaulted two children living under his care numerous times over the course of several years before fleeing to Tennessee and living under a fake identity for more than three decades, prosecutors said.

Township of Roxbury

Township of Roxbury

Photo Credit: Roxbury Township Police via Facebook

Richard A. Ziegler, 70, was in Roxbury when he performed “multiple sexual acts” on two children who had been living under his care between Dec. 1, 1981 and May 31, 1987, Acting Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said in a Wednesday release.

One child was abused between the ages of 10 and 15 and the other from ages 10 to 12, Carroll said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol Criminal Investigations Division recently located Ziegler in Oneida, Tennessee and determined that he had falsified documents in order to get a driver’s license with a fake identity, Carroll said.

Ziegler will be extradited to Morris County to face his charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, child endangerment and other offenses.

He also faces a felony aggravated perjury charge and a misdemeanor driver’s license fraud offense in Tennessee, Carroll said.

Carroll expressed gratitude for the hard work of contributing law enforcement agencies, citing them as “an outstanding model of excellent inter-agency police work to identify and arrest this individual who evaded prosecution for over three decades.”

Anyone with information about this incident or similar incidents is asked to call Sergeant Anne-Marie Truppo of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6291 or Detective William Manisa of the Township of Roxbury Police Department at 973-448-2050.

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