A Brooklyn man was indicted in federal court Wednesday for allegedly kidnapping five women and preying on his victims while sexually assaulting and robbing them.
The defendant, Chad Barclay, was previously arrested back in November of last year for allegedly raping and robbing his first victim, whom he had met on an escort website and coerced to cross state lines to meet with him.
On Aug. 23, he received a 20-count superseding indictment — meaning his initial indictments were amended since he continued to commit crimes while out on bail — in the Eastern District federal courthouse.
Defendant accused of luring and kidnapping women
Barclay was arrested in May and was ordered to be held in custody until the date of his arraignment. He is being charged with engaging in interstate prostitution, Hobbs Act robbery, kidnapping, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding.
The crimes involve five female victims and one male victim. If found guilty on the top charge, Barclay faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to court documents, Barclay was allegedly engaged in criminal behavior from Sept. 2022 until his final arrest in May 2023.
Prosecutors alleged that Barclay lured women to meet with him through various avenues — including through online escort websites — with the criminal intention of sexually assaulting and or robbing them.
“Barclay is alleged to have callously sexually assaulted, robbed multiple women, or both through threats of violence and coercion,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith in a statement. “This type of criminal behavior has no place in our communities. Today’s indictment serves as a notice to any individual who willingly uses threats and intimidation to commit sexual assault and other violent crimes — the FBI will ensure you face punishment in the criminal justice system.”
After coercing the female victims to his apartment, Barclay allegedly sexually assaulted many of them all while illegally confining them to his apartment where he terrorized them for hours before compelling them to unlock their phones so he could transfer thousands of dollars to himself through various financial applications like CashApp and Paypal.
A series of violent crimes
Barclay allegedly raped and robbed his first victim in September 2022, then threatened her with violence and refused to let her leave his apartment.
The victim reported the crime on Sept. 13, 2022, and but Barclay wasn’t arrested until November. He was released on his own recognizance while the case was pending, and was charged with robbery and rape in the third degree as well as other charges related to the crime on Feb. 21, 2023. He made bail and was released from custody on March 6.
On September 24, 2022, just days after Barclay’s first alleged rape, a second victim reported that he had robbed her after she was hired to clean his apartment.
Barclay was arrested on Sept. 25, 2022, then released and ordered to return to court on Jan. 30, 2023, when he was again arraigned on an indictment of third-degree robbery and other charges before he paid bail and was released — only to commit further crimes.
Last November, he allegedly drugged, raped and robbed another victim in the Bronx while out on bail after he met the victim on the website Craigslist.
Barclay also allegedly took several of the victim’s bank cards and used them to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals. In some cases, Barclay also asked his victims personal questions like whether or not they lived alone, had children or if they had friends or family in New York to ascertain methods with which he could further coerce them and terrify them into meeting his demands.
“As alleged, the defendant is a dangerous criminal who sexually assaulted and robbed multiple vulnerable women while using fear to make them his prisoners,” United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace said in a statement on Thursday. “I commend the prosecutors and FBI Special Agents for bringing this serial offender to justice. Anyone who believes they are a victim of a crime committed by Barclay is asked to contact the United States Attorney’s Office at https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/report-crime or the FBI.”
