Fugitive on Bergen County Sheriff's Office 10 Most Wanted List Extradited Back to Bergen County

A man on the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office 10 Most Wanted List was extradited back to Bergen County after fleeing to Jamaica while facing aggravated sexual assault charges.

Homer Rhone Bishop, 41, was returned to Bergen County Tuesday by U.S. Marshals after being “a fugitive since 2007 when he failed to appear for sentencing in Bergen County Superior Court after having pled guilty to first degree aggravated sexual assault,” Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

Bishop was first arrested by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Lodi Police Department on June 19, 2006 after an investigation revealed he had been having forced sexual encounters with a juvenile female acquaintance who was 12-years-old when the abuse began and 13-years-old when the abuse ended.

At that time, Bishop was charged with first degree aggravated sexual assault and second degree endangering the welfare of a minor. Bail was set at $150,000 and Bishop was released after posting a reduced bail of $80,000.

Bishop appeared in court and pled guilty to the aggravated sexual assault charge on August 9. 2007 and remained free on bail pending sentencing. But on November 9, 2007, Molinelli says Bishop failed to appear in court for sentencing and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Bishop was added to the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office 10 Most Wanted List and in early 2010, an anonymous tip claimed that Bishop “had absconded to Jamaica and was living there under an alias,” though it was not specific enough to locate him.

But in late 2013, the Sheriff’s Office again received an anonymous tip that Bishop was in Kingston, Jamaica and provided more specific information, which ultimately led to his arrest.

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