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Marathon runner flees police on foot, runs 5 miles

Eric Kipkemei Chirchir, a marathon runner from Kenya, allegedly touched a 15-year-old girl in the women's locker room of the Bogota Golf Center.

By Ben Hooper
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BOGOTA, N.J., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Police in New Jersey said a marathon runner had no need for a getaway car when he fled police on foot and ran five miles to his home.

The Bogata Police Department said Eric Kipkemei Chirchir, 31, a marathon runner from Kenya, fled police at the Bogota Golf Center Nov. 15 and ran the five miles to his home.

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"He's fast," Detective Sgt. Jon Misskerg told NJ.com. "This is one of the world's elite marathon runners."

Police said they had been called by a 15-year-old girl who accused Chirchir of entering the women's locker room and touching her inappropriately.

Misskerg said Chirchir was found hiding in his 6-year-old daughter's bedroom closet at his home.

Bogota police Capt. James Sepp told NorthJersey.com Chirchir, an employee of the golf club, was arrested on charges of criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.

Sepp said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a detainer on Chirchir following his arrest, meaning he could also be facing prosecution for violating immigration laws.

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