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A man who allegedly held his girlfriend captive for almost a year was arrested after she escaped and sought help at a New Jersey gas station, authorities said.

James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, was arrested Feb. 7, after the woman managed to flee to the gas station, where she locked the door, according to video footage obtained by ABC. There, she begged an attendant for help, leading to Parrillo’s arrest shortly after. 

The woman had met Parrillo at a gas station in New Mexico about a year earlier, where he went by the name “Brett Parker,” according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.

Parrillo offered to give her a ride to Arizona, and the pair began dating, but about a month into the relationship he allegedly attacked her, she claimed.

By then, the coupled had traveled to California, and the victim felt trapped in the relationship, authorities said. During their time together, Parrillo allegedly took away the woman’s phone and debit cards, and “isolated her from her family,” according to the AG. 

The couple arrived in New Jersey in December and had been staying in Bass River Township, about 30 minutes north of Atlantic City, for roughly two weeks before the woman managed to escape, following an argument where Parrillo allegedly beat and choked her, authorities said. 

Parrillo has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault, and third-degree criminal restraint.

He may have performed “similar predatory conduct” in other states based on social media and information provided by the woman, prosecutors said

“This is a deeply disturbing case in which the defendant allegedly held a woman against her will for nearly a year, while traveling with her throughout the country,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said. “We are reaching out to law enforcement across jurisdictions to identify other people who may have additional information on the defendant.”

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