An Indiana man was charged with murder for killing a sex offender last month, shortly after he was released from prison for sexually abusing the man’s young family member.

On June 24, Nicholas Stanley, 35, allegedly shot and killed Allen Cogswell at a Daylite Inn in Elkhart. The Goshen News reported that Stanley was seen wielding a long gun while looking through Cogswell’s hotel room window before he knocked on the door, opened fire, and fled.

Cogswell was found dead in his hotel room with gunshot wounds to his head and chest. Surveillance cameras not only filmed Stanley at the scene, but they also captured a vehicle with a license plate that was traced back to his father, with whom Stanley resides.

Cogswell was released from prison in May after serving seven years for molesting a young relative of Stanley’s. Elkhart police said Stanley initially claimed he was unaware of Cogswell’s release, but their investigation determined that both Stanley and his father knew Cogswell was staying at a hotel.

“I drove out to go find him. And then when I found him, I did what I had to. I took him out,”  Stanley told WBND during a phone interview from jail. “I’m tired of pretending like I did something wrong. You know, I don’t feel like I did anything wrong, and there are thousands of people out there who agree with me. I’m just tired of pretending that I have to be scared of the system when he obviously wasn’t scared of the system. And now I’m going to get more time putting this piece of trash out, than he ever got for hurting my family and the ones that I love. So, if the system wants to throw me away, let them. I don’t even care anymore.”

Despite his comments to WBND, Stanley pleaded not guilty on Thursday to Cogswell’s murder. Jailed without bond, he has a July 31 preliminary hearing before his trial, which is scheduled to begin in October.

[Feature Photo: Elkhart County police]