Oklahoma Sex Offender Caught 13 Years After Faking Death
Justice is served, again. A convicted Oklahoma sex offender is off the streets thirteen years after faking his own death to avoid more charges. Keep reading for all the shocking details about how he fooled the police into thinking he was dead.
Oklahoma Sex Offender Fakes Death
Anthony Lennon was supposed to be arrested at the Super 8 motel in Moore, Oklahoma, where he worked in 2012. He was allegedly found in possession of child pornography years after being convicted of the same thing. He received a suspended sentence after being convicted of aggravated child pornography in 2008.
But his conviction didn’t stop him from collecting explicit images of children. Investigators found hundreds of images of children being abused on Lennon’s computer in 2011. He was arrested but bonded out of jail.
They tried to arrest him again a year later, but instead, they found the shocking scene of his death. Or so they thought. Knowing the police were on his tail, Anthony Lennon allegedly faked his own death.
The convicted sex offender “staged an elaborate and bloody abduction and robbery scene, leaving behind falsified evidence to make it appear he had been abducted,” PEOPLE magazine reported. The police tested the blood and it matched the suspect, making his “death” much more convincing.
“He went to extremes, and we did determine that the large amount of blood at the staged crime scene actually was his,” the police in Oklahoma said about what they found in the motel.
The case went cold for over a decade until he was found alive and well thousands of miles away.
Caught Thousands Of Miles Away After 13 Years
Anthony Lennon wasn’t dead after all. He was found at the local college in Canton, New York, on October 30th. It’s a little over 1,500 miles between Moore, Oklahoma, and the town in Upstate New York. The convicted sex offender was apprehended at SUNY Canton.
“Mr. Lennon may think he’s a smart person, but he is not as smart as he thinks he is,” Moore Police Chief Todd Gibson told the local news.
The police department continued to investigate the shocking disappearance. The search paid off the day before Halloween. Anthony Lennon was found using the alias “Justin Phillips” and enrolled in the Upstate NY college. After thirteen years on the lam, he’s in jail waiting for extradition back to Oklahoma.
The Canton police are investigating whether Anthony Lennon committed any crimes in New York or other states during the thirteen years he was missing.
“Search warrants are being run in New York on devices and residences, and we will see what they reveal to see if future crimes have been committed,” the police said.
They added, “But with his capture we can now begin the process of holding Lennon accountable for the crimes he committed against children in our community.”
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