A sex offender was arrested Saturday in Mexico after five years on the run from United States law enforcement.
Brad Hatter, 58, was arrested in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in Dec. 2005 for allegedly trying to meet a 9-year-old girl for sexual activity, according to a U.S. Marshals Service press release. Hatter was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 108 months in prison.
Upon his release in September 2017, Hatter was required to report to a Federal Probation Officer and register as a sex offender, authorities stated. He suddenly disappeared in 2018, and officers promptly contacted the U.S. Marshals to help locate the fugitive. (RELATED: Report: Sex Offender Finds Way Into Elementary School Through Unlocked Door. Police Arrest Him On Street)
Information reportedly surfaced during the 5-year investigation that Hatter had fled to the Philippines, but he was eventually located in Mexico, where he was working as a teacher. With the help of Mexican authorities, Hatter was arrested and brought back to the United States for prosecution.
The United States Marshals Service has captured international fugitive, and child sexual predator, Brad Hatter. Hatter has been returned to the United States to face justice: https://t.co/ditP7cLnxi
— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) December 5, 2022
To date, there is no record of Hatter being held at the Gwinnett County Jail, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post. But a felony violation was allegedly filed against Hatter after his disappearance, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Former Marine Suspected Of Killing Girlfriend Put On US Marshals ‘Most Wanted List’)
“Since 2008, Mr. Hatter has been looking over his shoulder” said Thomas Brown, the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia. “One day, Deputy United States Marshals would find him. On Saturday, December 3, that day arrived.”
“Hatter is now back where he belongs, in the custody of the United States Government,” Brown added.