A Texas fugitive who spent seven years evading law enforcement has been taken into custody in South Africa and returned to San Antonio to face child sexual assault charges, federal authorities said.
Robert Lee Redd Jr., 56, was wanted in Bexar County for two charges of aggravated sexual abuse on a child. In May 2019, a grand jury indicted him in Bexar County’s 144th District Court on charges of sexually abusing a child under the age of 14 using physical force and sexual contact.
According to investigators, Redd fled the country immediately after being indicted, initiating an international manhunt conducted by the United States Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.
During the inquiry, deputies explored several leads, including indications that Redd might be hiding in the Middle East. Continued tracking eventually took detectives to South Africa’s Eastern Cape area.
The task team relayed information on Redd’s whereabouts with Interpol and the South African Police Service. Based on this information, South African officers pursued Redd and arrested him at his residence in Kabega Park.
“No matter how far a suspect flees or how many years pass, the pursuit of justice never ends,” said Brian D. Harrison, acting US marshal for the Western District of Texas. “The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force will fiercely pursue those who violate the law. “If you run, we will find you.”
The authorities extradited Redd from Cape Town to San Antonio. When his plane landed at San Antonio International Airport, officials from the San Antonio Airport Police brought him into custody.
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