Man Charged With Kidnapping Woman From Lawrence

Authorities in Bucks County, Pa., have arrested a Trenton, N.J., man on charges alleging he abducted a woman from Lawrence Township and sexually assaulted her at a park in Lower Makefield, Pa.

The suspect, John Perry III, 64, was arrested Wednesday (Dec. 7) and later charged in Pennsylvania with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and false imprisonment, according to police in Lower Makefield, Pa. 

According to a Lower Makefield police news release, the victim has told authorities that she was abducted in Lawrence Township, driven in a car to a parking lot at the Five Mile Woods nature preserve off Big Oak Road in Lower Makefield, sexually assaulted there at gun point and then returned to New Jersey, where she contacted Lawrence Township police to report the crime.

Lawrence police sent numerous patrol officers and a detective to a home in the 1800 block of Princeton Avenue about 11 a.m. Wednesday to investigate a reported abduction.

In the course of that investigation, Lawrence Township police identified a suspect and quickly tracked that suspect to the Trent Center Apartments in the 400 block of Greenwood Avenue in Trenton.

At one point, a Lawrence Township police officer was heard on a police radio ordering the suspect to drop a knife. The suspect was taken into custody at that time by Lawrence police, with the assistance of Trenton police.

Lt. Mark Ubry, spokesman for the Lawrence Township Police Department, said late Wednesday afternoon that Bucks County authorities had taken over as the lead investigators because, at that time, it appeared all the crimes allegedly committed by the suspect had all taken place across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania and that Lawrence Township police had assumed a supporting role in the investigation.

Ubry did not work on Thursday, so an update on the involvement of Lawrence Township police in the investigation was not available.

At no time did Ubry identify the suspect. But Lower Makefield police listed Perry’s home address as the 400 block of Greenwood Avenue in Trenton.

Lower Makefield police said a search of the parking lot at Five Mile Woods was conducted and a gun was recovered.

It is unknown at this time if the victim of the alleged crimes is a Lawrence Township resident or whether she resides elsewhere.



Update, 12 p.m. Dec. 9: As of noon today, Dec. 9, no criminal charges against the suspect had been filed by Lawrence Township police. Lawrence Township Lt. Mark Ubry said police are still investigating whether an actual crime took place within the township – namely whether the abduction of the woman actually took place within Lawrence Township’s borders or whether she was taken captive some time after she left the township in the company of the suspect.