James Parrillo had been renting a room in a New Jersey home where he allegedly held a woman captive before she escaped to a nearby gas station. In the wake of Parrillo's arrest, new women have come forward saying they believe he is a serial predator.
A dramatic video of a desperate woman's escape from her accused kidnapper has been seen across America.
Now, disturbing new details are emerging about the man accused of holding her captive for close to a year.
James Parrillo, 57, had been renting a room in a New Jersey home where he allegedly held the victim captive before she escaped to a nearby gas station, officials said.
In the wake of Parrillo's arrest, new women have come forward, telling authorities they believe he is a serial predator.
Sarah Dhooma, a hiking enthusiast, warned her fellow backpackers about Parrillo four years ago.
"If you see this guy stay away," Duma said in a video posted to social media. "He's very dangerous. He's very violent. He's unpredictable."
Sarah says that she encountered Parrillo on the Pacific Crest Trail, a popular hiking route on the West Coast.
"I could just feel like something evil emanating from him," Sarah tells Inside Edition.
Former National Park Service Ranger Andrea Lankford, author of Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail, says she has spent years researching Parrillo and his activities on America's hiking trails.
She explains how Parrillo was allegedly able to get these women under his control.
"First, he starts off by pouring on the charm, but before too long, the mask is going to come off," Lankford says. "And then, the guy who was once romantic and charming, is now going to be controlling, mean, and manipulative. He takes control their finances, he starts threatening them, violently."
In one chilling video posted on YouTube in 2014, Parrillo boasts about spending time in federal prison.
"If the cop pushed me at all, I would punch him out, kick him, try to stab him," Parrillos says in the video. "I have no problem with that, I still don't."
Authorities in New Jersey, where Parrillo was taken into custody after his alleged victim fled to safety, are encouraging other women to come forward.
“Pick up the phone and call, completely anonymous, your identity will be protected, we just want to know if you have any information,” New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan said at a news conference earlier this week
Authorities also said that Parrillo had been using a number of different names over the years.
He is charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree strangulation and aggravated assault, third-degree criminal restraint, third-degree hindering apprehension, fourth-degree obstruction and refusing to provide a DNA sample.
Parrillo has yet to enter a plea in the case but on Wednesday a judge ordered that he be detained at the Burlington County Jail while he awaits trial.
