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Bucks fugitive wanted in sex assaults caught in Delco

David Allen Hamilton Jr. had eluded authorities for more than a week.

David Hamilton after his capture Friday in Aston, Delaware County.
David Hamilton after his capture Friday in Aston, Delaware County.Read moreU.S. Marshals Service

A Bucks County man who eluded police for more than a week as he was sought on charges of raping two girls for years was arrested Friday after authorities said they found him hiding in a closet.

Acting on a tip, the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and local police officers surrounded a home on the 100 block of Roberts Road in Aston, Delaware County, about 10:15 a.m., authorities said. Inside the house, they found David Allen Hamilton Jr. hiding upstairs, authorities said.

The house belonged to one of Hamilton's relatives, who faces no charges in the case.

Two nearby schools were locked down while the operation was underway, officials said.

"We are extremely glad we were able to bring Mr. Hamilton into custody without incident and in a timely manner," Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark said.

Clark said Hamilton offered no resistance and the relative was not there.

Despite suspicions that he had been living outdoors, Hamilton didn't look "messy, disheveled, dirty" when he was apprehended, Clark said.

"He definitely wasn't living outside the past couple of days," he said.

Hamilton, of Trevose, had been sought since last week after being accused of sexually assaulting two girls over five years. Authorities said the girls, now 12 and 14, told police Hamilton had assaulted them for several years in Trevose and at two locations in Feasterville.

The older child said the assaults began when she was 9. She said Hamilton once locked her in the bathroom and took an explicit picture of her.

The younger child told detectives Hamilton began assaulting her when she was in fourth grade, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

Hamilton was nearly captured on Sept. 21, when two New Hope officers were poised to arrest him, but he escaped after a struggle during which, authorities said, he wrestled one officer to the ground and attempted to steal his firearm. The officer fell and Hamilton took off, police said.

Over the next several days, Hamilton, a 20-year Army veteran, went from one place to another by foot, bike, and car. As authorities searched for him in a multi-day manhunt in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Trenton, and Delaware, he was spotted at a Target store in Oxford Valley, where he purchased a white tent with a red top and other supplies.

On Wednesday, Meredith Custodio, 58, was charged with hiding Hamilton for several days in the Solebury home where she works as a caretaker and allowing him to steal her client's car.

He was last reported to have been spotted in New Castle, Del., Wednesday morning.

When authorities converged on the house in Aston on Friday, neighbor Joe Derrickson was startled. "To have him [Hamilton] across the street from your house is crazy," he said. "I'm glad they got him off the street."

Staff writer Joseph A. Gambardello contributed to this article.