Convicted Sex Offender Captured After 13 Years on the Run

A convicted sex offender, considered one of Oklahoma’s most wanted fugitives, has been apprehended on suspicion of staging his suicide to enroll in a New York college.

Anthony Lennon was arrested in Canton, New York, last week after evading law enforcement for almost 13 years, as reported by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Lennon had been convicted back in 2008 of child pornography charges and given a 20-year probation sentence. However, in 2012, officials suspected he possessed more child pornography and began a search for him. Investigators uncovered chat logs, external drives, and distressing videos during their inquiry at his residence.

In a bizarre twist, when police attempted to arrest Lennon at a Super 8 Motel in Moore, Oklahoma, they found he had “staged an elaborate and bloody kidnapping and robbery,” leaving behind fake evidence to suggest he had been abducted.

After managing to escape from law enforcement, Lennon remained on the run for over a decade.

Moore Police Chief Todd Gibson remarked, “He took an extreme action, and we determined that the large amount of blood left at the staged crime scene was in fact his.”

While evading justice, Lennon assumed the identity of “Justin Phillips” and was reportedly enrolled at the State University of New York at Canton when he was captured. He had previously earned a master’s degree in computer science and was pursuing a Ph.D. at the time of his disappearance.

Law enforcement interviewed Lennon using his alias and conducted fingerprint analyses to confirm his identity. He remains in custody in New York, awaiting extradition back to Oklahoma.

Authorities are now examining whether Lennon committed any additional offenses during his years on the run. The U.S. Marshals Service stated that the investigation is ongoing, emphasizing the importance of holding Lennon accountable for his past crimes.