NEW CASTLE — A Pennsylvania man whose wife allegedly faked his kidnapping so he could avoid sentencing on child-sex charges has been jailed along with her after he was found in a hidden attic crawl space at their home, police say.

The alleged conspiracy by Larry and Michelle Cragle unraveled Wednesday when New Castle police found 37-year-old Larry Cragle in the crawl space, hidden by some wall insulation and household items stacked in front of it.

Court records show a Lawrence County judge revoked Larry Cragle’s bond July 6, five days after he failed to show up for sentencing for convictions on statutory sexual assault, rape and other charges involving children ages 13 and 9. Cragle faces potentially decades in prison when sentenced.

His 31-year-old wife was arrested Wednesday, too, on charges of conspiring to help him avoid apprehension, false reports to police, and tampering with physical evidence.

A week before Cragle’s sentencing, his wife called police to report that three men forced their way into the couple’s home, sexually assaulted her then kidnapped her husband, police said. Michelle Cragle told police the kidnappers bound her with duct tape and cut off some of her hair, and police did find wads of her hair and duct tape in the living room.

But police also found no sign of forced entry and said semi-dried blood on the kitchen’s walls — supposedly the result of a struggle with Larry Cragle — seemed to have been applied with a paint brush.