Old Prints Point Finger at Imprisoned Sex Offender as Car Thief

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY – A cold case from 2014 has turned red hot again after investigators found fingerprints in a damaged stolen vehicle matching those of a maximum-risk sex offender who is currently incarcerated at Groveland Correctional Facility.

Rene Gonzalez Jr, 25, appeared at the Livingston County Courthouse escorted by two New York State Corrections Officers in his prison uniform was arraigned on his latest charges, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, an E felony, and Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree, an E felony.

Assistant District Attorney Justin Hill said that fingerprints from the vehicle, which in 2014 was stolen from Lima and later found damaged, match Gonzalez’s.

Gonzalez is currently serving a 1 to 3 year prison sentence for violating the rules and regulations of the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) for a second time.

He is registered with SORA due to a 2003 conviction for Coercion in the First Degree, for an incident where he forced a 5-year-old boy to perform sex acts by threatening him with physical harm in 2003. Gonzalez served 6 months in local jail and 10 years’ probation for this original sex offense.

Gonzalez has a conditional release date from the Department of Corrections of July 5, 2016.

Gonzalez appeared without a lawyer and requested an application for the Public Defender’s Office.

PHOTO CAPTION: Rene Gonzalez Jr. (Photo/DOCJS)