A New York City serial rape and robbery suspect was indicted this week for allegedly kidnapping five women and multiple other offenses.
Through a 20-count superseding indictment filed Wednesday, Chad Barclay, 30, of Brooklyn, was charged with interstate prostitution, Hobbs Act robbery, kidnapping, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding. Those crimes involve five female victims, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace and FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James Smith announced Thursday. One male was the victim of access device fraud and aggravated identify theft, they said.
"As alleged, the defendant is a dangerous criminal who sexually assaulted and robbed multiple vulnerable women while using fear to make them his prisoners," Peace said in a statement 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."
Barclay was arrested in May 2023 and ordered detained pending trial. He will be arraigned on the superseding indictment at a later date.
Prior to May, Barclay had been arrested and released multiple times. Some initial charges, including third-degree robbery, were not eligible for bail under New York's controversial bail form laws, and Barclay had posted $50,000 bond after being indicted on rape and other state offenses in February, the New York Daily News previously reported.
"Barclay is alleged to have callously sexually assaulted, robbed multiple women, or both through threats of violence and coercion. 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," Smith added.
From September 2022 to May 2023, Barclay allegedly engaged in a criminal pattern of enticing women – some of them were contacted through online escort websites – to meet with him and then sexually assaulting and/or robbing them, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say that after luring them to his apartment in Brooklyn, Barclay sexually assaulted multiple female victims, instilling fear and confining them for hours in his apartment.
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Barclay also compelled the victims to unlock their phones so that he could take control of the them and transfer thousands of dollars to himself through various financial platforms, according to court documents. On several occasions, Barclay allegedly stole the victims’ bank cards and used them to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals.
In some cases, Barclay asked his victims personal questions in an attempt to identify whether they had friends and family in New York or lived alone, and he accessed their phones to gather personal information about them – including where they lived and whether they had children – to further coerce them into complying with his demands, prosecutors said.
A June 6 federal indictment initially charged Barclay with one count to entice an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which specifically deals with robbery or extortion that affects foreign or interstate commerce.
The FBI New York field office released Barclay's photo on June 14, saying the bureau was searching for additional victims in a sexual enticement investigation into Barclay.
The FBI said at the time that investigators believed Barclay may have had more victims in other states and encouraged anyone with information or believe they are a victim of Barclay to contact the FBI "regardless of their immigration or lifestyle status."
Barclay allegedly targeted sex workers and a cleaning worker, allegedly telling one escort he met online that he was a pimp and gang member and that she needed to pay a "tax" for working in Brooklyn, prosecutors said in prior court documents, according to the Daily News.
