Scranton, PA – Today, United States Marshal Martin J. Pane announced that the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force arrested Christopher Karl Scott - a 34-year old man formerly of Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania.

During 2008, the Pennsylvania State Police investigated Scott for the alleged sexual assaults of two minor females in Mount Pleasant Township. On October 17, 2008, Scott surrendered to authorities in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. He appeared before Magisterial District Judge Ronald Edwards who released Scott on unsecured bail.

In 2009, Scott appeared in the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas to plead guilty to the charges. After learning that his guilty plea would designate him as a sexually violent predator under the provisions of Megan’s Law, Scott withdrew his plea and requested a trial. Scott was allowed to remain free on unsecured bail pending the trial.

On September 21, 2009, Scott failed to appear for trial in the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas. President Judge Raymond L. Hamill issued a Bench Warrant for the arrest of Scott. On September 29, 2009, the Pennsylvania State Police requested the assistance of the USMS Fugitive Task Force in the Middle District of Pennsylvania to locate and arrest Scott. Scranton-based Deputy U.S. Marshals pursued leads in Pennsylvania, surrounding states, and as far away as Texas.

In early February 2014, Crime Watch PA – an on-line tip and law enforcement information sharing service – received information that Scott was living in a remote cabin near Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. U.S. Marshals in the Middle District of Pennsylvania sent an investigative lead to their counterparts in the Northern District of West Virginia. On February 6, Deputy U.S. Marshals placed a cabin in Pendleton County under surveillance. After several hours, Scott was positively identified as he entered the cabin. The fugitive was arrested without incident. When taken into custody, he had no identification on his person. However, personnel observed documents inside the cabin containing the alias of Christopher Campbell. No other persons were found in or around the cabin at the time of arrest. Scott was turned over to West Virginia authorities and lodged in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, to await extradition back to Pennsylvania.

United States Marshal Martin J. Pane stated, “The arrest of this fugitive, charged with crimes against two young children, was a priority to the Marshals Service. While he was on the run, there could be no justice for the little girls. It is my sincere hope that, by taking this fugitive into custody to face justice in the Wayne County Courts, some measure of comfort will be realized.”

U.S. Marshals received assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police and Lackawanna Sheriff’s Office. These agencies are participating members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Additional assistance was provided in West Virginia by the West Virginia State Police and the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Department.

The concept of all USMS-led fugitive task forces is to seek out and arrest the nation’s most dangerous offenders.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

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