Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Child rape charges against the Emporium man who had been on the run from police for five years have been bound to Cameron County Court. 28-year-old Joseph Chapman is accused of raping an 8-year-old girl in 2006. He’s scheduled to be in court on Tuesday. Chapman was being held in the McKean County Jail back in 2007 when he walked away from a work detail. He was picked up earlier this year in Chautauqua County after a woman recognized him on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” and contacted police. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Accused rapist Joseph Chapman of Emporium pleaded guilty Thursday in McKean County Court to an escape charge. The 28-year-old walked away from the McKean County Jail in July of 2007 and spent nearly five years on the run. He was arrested on May 20 near Dunkirk, New York, after a TV viewer recognized him on the show “America's Most Wanted.” He was originally in jail after being charged with raping a seven-year-old and eight-year-old girl in Cameron County. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Former fugitive Joseph Chapman is back in jail, but he will be on America’s Most Wanted again on Friday. The show will feature an update on Chapman, who was captured because a Stockton, New York, woman saw him on America’s Most Wanted and called police. Chapman escaped from the McKean County Jail in 2007, where he was being held after violating his probation in Cameron County. He is still facing charges related to the rape of an 8-year-old girl in Cameron County. Since his escape, he lived in East Amherst, Depew and Gasport before moving to Chautauqua County last fall’ He had been using the name Joshua Tompkins, and had been working as a construction worker, handy man and security officer. The update on America's Most Wanted airs on the Lifetime Network at 9 p.m. on Friday. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Joseph Chapman is back in McKean County Jail. The 28-year-old former fugitive was arraigned by District Judge Bill Todd in Smethport this afternoon on an escape charge for walking away from a work detail at the jail back in July of 2007. Chapman was captured Sunday in Chautauqua County after a Stockton woman called police saying she recognized him from an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” that was rerun on Friday night. Jeannie Story tells the Dunkirk Observer newspaper that after seeing the show, she went online to look at Chapman’s picture and said, “If it was not him, it was his identical twin.” She told police Chapman had been using the name Joshua Tompkins since he moved to the Arkwright area last September. Chapman’s bail is set at $200,000. A preliminary hearing on the escape charge is scheduled for May 31 in Todd’s office. Chapman is also facing charges in Cameron County of rape of a child, sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault on a child and indecent a...

Joseph Chapman will be extradited from Chautauqua County to McKean County today. Pennsylvania State Trooper Dale Vuckovich says Chapman will be arraigned on an escape charge by District Judge Bill Todd in Smethport this afternoon. Chapman escaped from the McKean County Jail in July of 2007. He was picked up Sunday in Chautauqua County, where he had been living under the name Joshua Tompkins. A person who saw an “America’s Most Wanted” episode featuring Chapman that aired in December contacted New York State Police. Chapman is also wanted on warrants out of Cameron County for sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl and rape. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The man who escaped from the McKean County Jail in 2007 has been captured in Chautauqua County. 28-year-old Joseph Chapman was arrested Sunday by New York State Police after they got a tip saying he was living under the name Joshua Tompkins near Arkwright. The tip came from a local resident who recognized Chapman from an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” that aired in December. Chapman was wanted for escaping from the McKean County Jail in July 2007 and for warrants involving sexual assault of a child and rape. He's being held Monday on a fugitive from justice charge in the Chautauqua County Jail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Here’s a reminder that convicted rapist Joseph Chapman will be featured in tonight’s episode of America’s Most Wanted at 9 p.m. on the Lifetime network. The 28-year-old escaped from the McKean County Jail in 2007. He’s wanted in connection to the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl. The story on Chapman is part of an AMW two-hour special – “50 Fugitives in 50 States.” U.S. Marshals are still actively seeking information from the public in helping to find Chapman. http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=77464 The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947