Convicted Child Sex Offender Accidentally Release From Prison, Manhunt Underway

A massive search has been launched in Georgia for a convicted rapist and child molester who was released from prison accidentally.

Tony Maycon Munoz-Mendez, 31, had been in state custody since being charged in 2015 for rape and child molestation charges, according to state records. The Georgia Department of Corrections announced that he was serving a life sentence when he was “released in error” from his incarceraton at Rogers State Prison on Friday.

The department did not say how the error was made, when it was discovered, or why it took several days before the public was notified that Munoz-Mendez was at large.

Authorities have been joined by U.S. Marshals in the search. “All resources are being utilized to ensure the rapid apprehension of Munoz-Mendez,” Gwinnett County prosecutor John Warr, who originally assisted in the fugitive's conviction, said in a statement. He said he was completely in shock over the the error that led to the convict’s relase.

Speaking to news outlet Atlanta’s 11 Alive, Warr said that the case which led to Munoz-Mendez's conviction was “especially bad,” involving a victim who was sexually assaulted repeatedly since the age of 10.

“They need to rethink how they’re handling their security, and how they let people out by mistake,” Warr said. “It’s incomprehensible.”

Making matters worse, Warr mentiond that he learned of Munoz-Mendez’s accidental release when he read about it Monday online. Warr told reporters, “I contacted the foster mother of the victim, immediately, and informed her what was going on."