TANEY COUNTY, Mo. – U.S. Marshals apprehended an accused serial child rapist in Branson, Missouri, after he skipped out on a court hearing in central Illinois more than two decades ago.
Herman Carroll, 72, had been arrested on July 3, 2000, for sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. He had prior convictions for child sex crimes in 1983 and 1993.
Carroll was charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, and criminal sexual assault in the 2000 case in Moultrie County, Illinois. He posted bail in 2000 and later failed to appear in court. He was declared a fugitive in 2001.
In June 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force (GLRFTF) took on the Carroll investigation into his whereabouts. On May 8, investigators received information that Carroll was living in the Branson area.
Three days later, marshals with the GLRFTF and the Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force (MWVFTF) in Missouri took Carroll into custody.
Carroll is currently in the Taney County Jail in Missouri, awaiting extradition back to Illinois.
