Crime & Safety
Fugitive Sex Offender Caught 24 Years Later
Richard Verboys, 60, was captured in Scranton, Pa., after fleeing Sarasota in 1988.
A fugitive sex offender from Sarasota County was able to outrun the law for 24 years, but was finally caught in Scranton, Pa., Tuesday.
Richard Verboys, 60, was convicted in Sararasota County of lewd and lascivious battery on a child for sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl, and was sentenced in 1988 to probation and court-ordered mental health counseling, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. Instead, Verboys fled the area a short time later, according to authorities.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit developed leads on his whereabouts and forwarded them to the U.S. Marshal Service Middle District of Pennsylvania Task Force and they took Verboys into custody Tuesday in Scranton.
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Verboys will be booked into the Lackawanna County Jail where he will await extradition to Florida, according to the sheriff's office.
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