Days after a convicted child rapist serving multiple life sentences was released from a Georgia prison by mistake, the Gwinnett County attorney who prosecuted him is trying to fathom how it happened.
“I can’t even comprehend the mistake that was made,” Assistant District Attorney John Warr said.
Warr prosecuted Tony Maycon Munoz-Mendez, he told Channel 2 Action News. The 31-year-old was accused of repeatedly raping and molesting a 7-year-old girl that he knew, Channel 2 reported.
“If anyone was deserving of a life sentence for this type of crime, it was him,” Warr said.
Munoz-Mendez was convicted of rape and aggravated child molestation, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records.
He had been in prison since April 2015 and was serving three life sentences, records show.
However, Munoz-Mendez was released “in error” from Rogers State Prison in Reidsville about noon Friday, GDC spokeswoman Lori Benoit said Monday in a news release.
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It’s not clear what led to his release.
Warr, who called the child molestation case “horrific,” said he was the first one to notify the victim and her foster family that Munoz-Mendez was out of prison.
“When I called her, she hadn’t been told he’d been released yet,” he said. “She was shocked.”
Munoz-Mendez’s whereabouts are unknown, officials said. Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service and the GDC are trying to locate him.
“All resources are being utilized to ensure the rapid apprehension of Munoz-Mendez,” Benoit said. “The public is reminded to call 911 and do not approach.”
The review into the circumstances surrounding Munoz-Mendez’s release is “ongoing, to include a full internal investigation,” according to GDC Director of Public Affairs Joan Heath.
Munoz-Mendez is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and about 186 pounds with brown hair and eyes, according to authorities.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact GDC officials at 478-992-5111 or by email at gdc.ciu@gdc.ga.gov.
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