Police arrested a man after a years-long investigation into the repeated sexual abuse of a child under 13 in Newark.
Daniel R. Shaffer, 43, was taken into custody in Florida and flown back to New York to face charges, according to a press release from the Newark Police Department.
The investigation began in 2021 after Child Protective Services received a report involving both physical and sexual abuse. Police say Shaffer sexually assaulted a child multiple times between 2017 and 2020. The child was younger than 13.
Officers also found evidence that Shaffer had been physically abusive toward both the child and an adult victim.
As the investigation progressed, Shaffer could not be located. Detectives later learned he had moved to Florida. A grand jury indicted him, and an arrest warrant was issued.
Earlier this year, Investigator Nick Dapolito worked with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force to track Shaffer down. Gainesville Police in Florida eventually located him and made the arrest on unrelated charges.
He was then flown to New York and handed over to Newark Police. Officers processed him and took him to Wayne County Jail, where he awaits arraignment in Superior Court.
Shaffer faces the following charges: four counts of rape in the first degree, four counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, four counts of incest in the first degree, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree involving a victim under 13, and one count of sexual conduct against a child under 13.
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