'Most wanted' N.J. sex offender charged with bail jumping

A South Jersey sex offender arrested earlier this month after more than 22 years on the run has been charged with bail jumping for failing to appear at a 1991 court hearing, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

James Wade Barclay, 48, was considered one of the state's top 12 most-wanted fugitives before his April 5 arrest in Boswell, Pa.

Barclay was initially arrested in 1989 in Cinnaminson and charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl multiple times over two years. He pleaded guilty in March 1991 and was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 5 of the same year.

Investigators said Barclay never showed up to that court hearing.

Instead, he allegedly used a fictitious Social Security number to adopt the alias James C. Toryone and start a new life as a long-distance truck driver. Using the phony name, Barclay was able to get a driver's license and purchase a house and firearms, officials said.

Police said the identity also enabled Barclay to establish a new network of friends and to attend social functions where children were present.

Barclay was taken into custody by officers from the Burlington County Sheriff's Office Warrant Unit and the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit following a three-day stakeout at a "Stop N Ride" parking lot.

Police said surveillance was conducted from a rental car by three camouflage-clad detectives who rotated shifts and never left the location to eat or to change clothes. Barclay was captured as he exited a parked tractor-trailer on Main Street and Route 30.

Though Barclay initially showed officers a driver's license bearing the name of his alias, he eventually admitted his true identity. Pennsylvania State Police and the U.S. Marshal's Service assisted in the arrest.

Barclay waived extradition and was transported April 8 from Pennsylvania to the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. He appeared Thursday in court, where a judge set his bail at $150,000.

Prosecutors said the case will be referred to a grand jury for indictment. Sentencing on the original charge of sexual assault has been scheduled for July 11.