Accused NJ child rapist caught after 30 years with a new identity

A former Morris County man accused of raping two children in his care during the 1980s has been caught after authorities said they discovered him living under an assumed identity in Tennessee.

Tennessee authorities discovered the New Jersey charges against Richard A. Ziegler, 70, after the Highway Patrol investigated his possible use of  falsified documents to get a driver's license under a fake identity, Morris County Acting Prosecutor Robert Carroll said Wednesday.

Ziegler is accused of engaging in sexual activity with one child between the ages of 10 and 12 and another between the ages of 10 to 15 when he lived with them in their Roxbury home between 1981 and 1987.

Carroll said Ziegler was responsible for the children's care.

Ziegler was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, three counts of second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact and two counts of second-degree child endangerment.

The prosecutor's statement did not say when the charges were first filed against Ziegler.

New Jersey amended its statue of limitations in December that allows victims of sexual assault to file a complaint until age 55.