Convicted Rapist Released From Georgia Prison ‘in Error’

The authorities were carrying out a manhunt for the inmate after he walked free, apparently by accident, the state Department of Corrections said.

A manhunt is underway in Georgia for a convicted rapist and child molester who is serving a life sentence and was released “in error,” the authorities said.

The inmate, Tony Maycon Munoz-Mendez, who had been incarcerated at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, Ga., about 65 miles west of Savannah, walked free on Friday around 11:30 a.m., according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The department, one of the country’s largest prison systems with nearly 52,000 inmates, announced his release in a statement three days after the incident. It did not explain how the error had occurred or why it had not been revealed sooner.

A spokeswoman for the department, Lori Benoit, said it was reviewing the circumstances surrounding his release and would carry out a “full internal investigation.”

“The priority of the Georgia Department of Corrections is apprehending the offender as quickly as possible, and at this time, we have all resources focused on the search,” Ms. Benoit said.

According to online corrections records, Mr. Munoz-Mendez, 31, was sentenced to life in prison for rapes that occurred in 2010 and 2012, as well as aggravated child molestation in 2010.

John Warr, the Gwinnett County prosecutor who handled the case, said that Mr. Munoz-Mendez had begun molesting the 7-year-old daughter of his girlfriend at the time, culminating in rape several years later.

Mr. Warr, who helped convict Mr. Munoz-Mendez in 2015, said by phone on Tuesday that he had learned about the accidental release by reading an article online.

“He’d been out of prison, mistakenly, for about 60 hours by the time we heard about it,” he said.

Mr. Warr said that he “immediately” called the victim, who lives with a foster mother, and that they were both “shocked.”

Neither had been contacted by the corrections department, he said.

“Something needs to be done about the protocols, the procedures, about verifying who they’re releasing,” Mr. Warr said of the department.

Mr. Warr said the state had recently passed a constitutional amendment bolstering the rights of crime victims to be notified about updates in legal cases involving those who have harmed them.

“I don’t think those were adhered to,” he said, “definitely not in a timely manner.”

The corrections department asked for help in capturing the inmate, adding that he should not be approached.

“The public is reminded to call 911,” the department said, or call 478-992-5111.