Reward offered in Chapman case

Authorities have upped the ante as they continue to look for fugitive Joe Chapman.

Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the apprehension of Chapman. Anyone with information is asked to call toll-free 1-800-471-8477.

Police have been tightlipped about their investigation, which was at one time centered in Cameron, Potter and McKean counties. Most recently, they confirmed that he may have been spotted near Jamestown, N.Y.

Chapman walked away from the grounds of the McKean County Prison while on work detail as a trustee on July 30.

A week later, Emporium Borough Police filed felony charges against him, based on allegations that he sexually assaulted a child in the borough between November 2006 and April of this year.

State police in Emporium are investigating allegations of additional sexual offenses that may have been committed by Chapman. These would have occurred before he was jailed in Smethport earlier this year for violating terms of his probation, stemming from a guilty plea to statutory sexual assault in 2002.

The inmate left his prison uniform in a creek not far from the facility and fled, possibly with an accomplice.

Chapman, 24, is five-footnine and has blue eyes. At the time of his escape, the former Cameron County resident had blond hair, was clean shaven and weighed about 180 pounds.