Previously convicted sex offender from Roswell, New Mexico faces federal charges in New Mexico

         ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Anthony Gilbert Thompson, 31, of Roswell, New Mexico, appeared in federal court in Albuquerque on July 13 for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint charging him with failure to register as a sex offender.

          According to the criminal complaint, Thompson was previously convicted in 2009 of possession of child pornography and again in 2012 for the same offense. Thompson was allegedly finishing his second term of imprisonment in a residential reentry center in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he escaped the facility on Feb 6. He was later found and arrested in Roswell, New Mexico, by deputies of the U.S. Marshals on June 18. Thompson allegedly had not notified authorities in Nevada or in New Mexico that he would be residing or working in New Mexico, in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

          Thompson is currently in custody pending trial after a detention hearing on July 15.  He faces up to 10 years in prison.  A criminal complaint is only an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

          The United States Marshal Service, FBI, and Roswell Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Matilda McCarthy Villalobos is prosecuting the case.