Share and Follow
A notorious sex offender, once listed among Oklahoma’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, has finally been apprehended after allegedly staging his own death and registering at a New York university under an assumed identity.
Anthony Lennon was captured in Canton, New York, last week following almost 13 years of evading law enforcement, as announced by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Lennon faced conviction in 2008 on child pornography charges, receiving a 20-year suspended sentence at that time.
The fugitive was apprehended in New York last week after spending 13 years on the run, having eluded capture for alleged sex crimes in Oklahoma.
In 2012, the search for Lennon intensified when authorities discovered he was allegedly in possession of more child pornography. Investigators reportedly uncovered evidence at his residence, including chat logs, external storage devices, and explicit videos involving children.
As authorities closed in on the Super 8 Motel in Moore, Oklahoma, to arrest Lennon on additional charges, they realized that he had “staged an elaborate and bloody abduction and robbery scene, leaving behind falsified evidence to make it appear he had been abducted,” according to officials.
After successfully evading arrest, Lennon remained on the run for 13 years.
Anthony Lennon was previously convicted of numerous child pornography charges in Oklahoma, and was one of the state’s “Ten Most Wanted” fugitives. (U.S. Marshals Service )
“He went to extremes, and we did determine that the large amount of blood at the staged crime scene actually was his,” Moore Police Chief Todd Gibson said in a news conference, according to People.
While on the run, Lennon allegedly adopted the alias “Justin Phillips,” and was enrolled in college at the State University of New York at Canton at the time of his arrest, NNY360 reported. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Lennon had previously earned a master’s degree in computer science and was working to obtain a doctorate at the time of his disappearance.
Detectives subsequently interviewed Lennon under his alias and used fingerprint analysis to confirm his identity, police said. He was taken into custody in New York and is awaiting extradition to Oklahoma, People reported.
Anthony Lennon was allegedly living in New York under the alias “Justin Phillips” at the time of his capture, according to authorities. (U.S. Marshals Service )
Authorities are also working to determine if Lennon committed any additional crimes while on the run, according to 7News.
“This case remains active and under investigation,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. “But with his capture we can now begin the process of holding Lennon accountable for the crimes he committed against children in our community.”
The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.