Man on the run for 16 years for child molestation charges found dead in Upstate SC

A man wanted for child molestation charges for 16 years was found dead in a Seneca home.

He was on the U.S. Marshals 15 most-wanted list.

A neighbor found 70-year-old Frederick Cecil McLean on Nov. 6 when they went to check on him. Authorities said the body was in a state of decomposition.

A Nov. 15 an autopsy identified McLean through fingerprints. Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said in a news release Friday that McLean likely died in late July.

The cause of death is pending, Addis said, although foul play is not suspected.

U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis said in a new release that the manhunt has ended, but the investigation into McLean’s alleged crimes continues. They are looking into whether anyone helped McLean elude capture.

He had lived in the Oakway community near Seneca for 15 years and was going by the name James Fitzgerald, according to officials.

“We wish McLean’s fate had been determined by a court of law 15 years ago,” U.S. Marshal Steve Stafford of the Southern District of California said in the release. “The investigators working on this case never gave up. We hope McLean’s death brings some sense of closure for the victims and their families, especially knowing he can never hurt another child.”

U.S. Marshals said a victim reported McLean assaulted her more than 100 times from the time she was 5 until 12.

“During his years on the run, McLean used numerous aliases and also lived in Poughkeepsie, New York, and Anderson, South Carolina,” said Stafford. “Because of his alleged crimes, we are concerned there may be other victims out there.”

There was a $25,000 reward for information on McLean, who the Marshals said met women through church activities. He was a Jehovah’s Witness and was accused of molesting women for 25 years as of 2005, the wanted poster said.

There were eight known victims.

Deputy Marshal Thomas Maranda told NBC News in 2007 that McLean used his position as a leader in the church to gain the trust of victims in a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses near San Diego.

“His role in the church was significant,” Maranda told NBC, “because we believe that his participation in the church gave him access to his victims.”

The Marshals said McLean had likely changed his appearance and was working as a handyman or mechanic. He had previously used several aliases including Frederick McLaine or McLain and Rick McClean.

Seneca Police Chief Casey Bowling said he had never heard of McLean.

This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 11:43 AM.