Credit: Falls Township police
A Bucks County man accused of raping a 13-year-old child in Falls Township was arrested Wednesday morning in Florida.
Shane Ferguson, 37, of Morrisville, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service’s Florida-Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force around 9 a.m. in the 2100 block of Triumph Road in Port St. Lucie, Florida after weeks of being sought by law enforcement.
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Ferguson fled the Levittown area after the alleged mid-January rape of a 13 year old. He was also wanted for a violation of his state parole.
Ferguson was wanted in Bucks County on charges of rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault on a person less than 16 years old, indecent assault without consent, and related offenses. A fugitive declaration in Bucks County was filed Tuesday in the case.
The defendant was being held as of Wednesday afternoon at the St. Lucie County Detention Facility where he awaited extradition to Pennsylvania.
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Falls Township police Chief Nelson Whitney said the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office will assist in transporting Ferguson back to the area to face the charges.
“Crimes against children diminish us all, as even their existence is an affront to civilized society. We are thankful to have been able to support Chief Whitney, the Falls Township Police Department, and the citizens of Bucks County in capturing the subject of this heinous crime so quickly,” said Eric Gartner, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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Ferguson pleaded guilty, served prison time, and received probation for aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, and possession of a weapon for a November 2015 incident in Falls Township. In that case, he was accused of holding a knife and assaulting a Levittown woman.
Ferguson was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of children in 2013. The case moved forward on the reckless endangerment charge and he entered a first-time offender program that had him perform community service.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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