Morris County Prosecutor Commends Staff on Fugitive Sex Crimes Case

Published on July 08, 2021

Suspect Was Wanted on Child Sex Charges for 30 Years 

Commendations were provided today to members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) investigative, legal and support staff teams, as well as the Roxbury Township Police Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol for their efforts in apprehending and securing the prosecution of a man who had been a fugitive from justice for almost 30 years.

Richard A. Ziegler was sentenced on May 28 to 10 years in prison in connection with sexual offenses involving minor victims that took place in the Township of Roxbury between December 1981 and May 1987.  He had been a fugitive until he was apprehended in Oneida, Tennessee in 2020 by the Tennessee Highway Patrol' Criminal Investigations Division after he used falsified documents to obtain a driver's license in Tennessee under an assumed identity.

First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood and Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker joined Prosecutor Carroll in presenting the commendations to Supervising Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker, Roxbury Police Detective Corporal William Manisa, MCPO Sgt. Anne-Marie Truppo, and Victim Witness Supervisor Amanda Holloway, and to Sgt. Jonathan Scott of the Tennessee Highway Patrol via video conference.

“Ziegler remained a fugitive from justice for over 30 years. Intensive follow-up by members of the MCPO and Tennessee Highway Patrol resulted in new information and a positive identification," said Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll. "Had it not been for the individual and coordinated efforts of Sgt. Jonathan Scott of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, MCPO Sgt. Anne-Marie Truppo, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker and Roxbury Police Department Det. William Manisa, the victims would still be without justice and closure. Supervisor Holloway took the initiative to research and provide the victims with support in the states where they live.”

Ziegler entered a guilty plea to two (2) counts of second degree Sexual Assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:142B) on April 20, 2021 before Superior Court Judge David H. Ironson in Morristown.

Photo: Left to right: Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of Detectives Chris Kimker, Supervising Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker, Roxbury Police Detective Corporal William Manisa, MCPO Sgt. Anne-Marie Truppo, Acting Prosecutor Robert Carroll, Victim Witness Supervisor Amanda Holloway, First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood, and Victim Witness Coordinator Donna Pasquariello.