Inmate Jose A. Ramos, the man who was long the prime suspect in a landmark case of missing New York City boy Etan Patz, is shown in this 2010 file photo.(Photo: AP)
PHILADELPHIA -- A man long considered the prime suspect in the
disappearance of a New York City boy more than three decades ago was
released from a Pennsylvania prison on Wednesday then immediately
arrested on a Megan's Law violation, state police said.
Jose
Antonio Ramos was immediately taken into custody following his release
from a northeastern Pennsylvania prison where he spent more than 20
years for molesting children because he failed to provide accurate
information as required of sex offenders, according to state police.
Ramos
had long been suspected in the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz,
who vanished May 25, 1979, after leaving his Manhattan home to go to a
bus stop two blocks away. It was the first time his parents had let him
go off to school alone.
Investigators in Etan's case have long
been focused on Ramos, who had been dating the boy's baby sitter and
later served the time in Pennsylvania for molesting two other boys.
State
police did not immediately specify what information Ramos failed to
supply. A phone message left with state police in Wyoming County was not
immediately returned Wednesday morning.
Etan's disappearance
prompted a massive search that stretched as far as Israel and spawned
the national movement to publicize the cases of missing children. The
blond, blue-eyed boy's photo was among the first put on milk cartons,
and his case turned May 25 into National Missing Children's Day.
His
parents never moved or changed their phone number, in case he returned.
In 2001, they obtained a court order officially declaring their son
dead. They have become outspoken advocates for child protection issues.
Ramos
was declared responsible for Etan's death in a civil court in 2004, but
the Manhattan district attorney's office has said there wasn't enough
evidence to charge him criminally. Ramos has denied any involvement in
Etan's disappearance.
Earlier this year, a new suspect named Pedro
Hernandez was charged with Etan's murder after police said he
confessed. His lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, has said Hernandez is mentally
ill, and authorities have not cited any additional evidence to implicate
him beyond his own admission.
Prosecutors are expected this month
to announce whether they believe there's evidence enough to continue
pursuing a case against Hernandez, who worked at a convenience store
near Etan's home when the boy disappeared and told police he strangled
the boy and stuffed his body in a trash bag.
Associated Press