A baby intercourse predator who allegedly faked his personal kidnapping 13 years in the past to flee legal prices was lastly arrested final week at an upstate New York faculty whereas enrolled underneath a pretend identify, authorities stated.
Anthony Lennon — one among Oklahoma’s “Ten Most Wished” fugitives — was busted on Oct. 30 after investigators found he was attending the State College of New York [SUNY] Canton underneath the alias “Justin Phillips,” in line with police and faculty officers.
“He evaded justice for much too lengthy however will now face the implications of his actions,” Oklahoma Lawyer Basic Gentner Drummond stated in a press release.
The 44-year-old was first convicted in 2008 of kid porn possession after a good friend utilizing his pc discovered 50 gigabytes of “graphic” little one intercourse abuse, the AG’s workplace stated.
He was sentenced to twenty years however was out on supervised launch when he was charged with little one porn possession once more in 2012.
Nevertheless when police went to arrest Lennon on the motel at which he was working, he “staged an elaborate and bloody abduction and theft scene, forsaking falsified proof to make it seem he had been kidnapped,” in line with the Moore Police Division.
Police had obtained a name from the motel proprietor the evening earlier than Lennon was imagined to be collared, claiming he had disappeared in a single day on March 11, 2012, in line with the criticism obtained by NBC Information.
“Detectives observed a pool of blood, Lennon’s shoe, shirt buttons, bloody shoe prints, and cash lacking from the resort cash drawer,” the criticism stated. “After analyzing the crime scene, interviewing members of the family, buddies, and people in the neighborhood, it was decided that the circumstances had been suspicious.”
Lennon had withdrawn all of his cash from his financial institution accounts earlier than he vanished and averted seize for 13 years, regardless of reported sightings from North Carolina to Texas.
The fugitive acquired a state ID, start certificates and enrolled at SUNY Canton underneath the identify “Justin Phillips.” He additionally made a number of makes an attempt to get a passport, in line with the criticism.
A SUNY Canton spokesperson advised The Publish he was suspended and banned from campus the day after his arrest.
He was arrested and interviewed underneath the false identify, however fingerprints revealed he was actually Lennon, in line with the US Marshals Service.
Lennon, as Justin Phillips, had enrolled within the college’s engineering science program in fall 2024. He was a full-time scholar and lived off-campus.
“The scholar was solely recognized to the school as Justin Phillips and none of our information point out that he had a previous id,” the spokesperson stated.
