Escaped pedophile was recaptured 30 years later: he used the identity of a dead child

A pedophile, known as Steven Craig Johnson, He escaped from a prison in Oregon, United States, 30 years ago and was recaptured by authorities on July 16, 2024.

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The U.S. Marshals Service said the abuser used the identity of a dead child to evade authorities.

Johnson, now 70, fled in 1994 while serving time at a minimum-security prison in Salem, Oregon, which no longer exists.

Pedophile used the identity of a child who died more than 60 years ago

This subject had been living in an apartment complex since 2011 in Macon, Georgia, under the identity of William Cox, the name of a child who died in Texas in 1962.

Under the false identity, this man managed to obtain a driver’s license. After being arrested on Tuesday afternoon, July 16, Steven Johnson was transported to the Bibb County Jail.

The Oregon Department of Corrections said Johnson is a pedophile and presented “high probability of victimizing preadolescent children.”

In accordance with The New York TimesBefore he escaped in 1994, Johnson was serving a state sentence for three counts of sexual abuse and one count of attempted sodomy.

The prison where the pedophile was held was an unfenced facility that housed 290 inmates. Former Governor Kate Brown made the decision to close this prison in 2021.

The offender is expected to be transferred to an Oregon prison in the coming days.

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