A man convicted of child rape and aggravated sexual battery now faces new charges after escaping from the Van Buren County Jail Monday morning.
Van Buren County Sheriff Eddie Carter said 37-year-old Joel Ernest Blanton manipulated a lock at 1:00 a.m. and ran out the door. Carter said Tuesday he’s happy to have Blanton back in custody.
“I’m in hopes that the judicial system will not fail us,” Carter said. “He gets what’s coming to him, quite honestly, he’s caused several people a lot of heart ache.”
Blanton escaped from the current jail facility and not the new jail facility. Carter said the county will begin housing inmates at the new facility in the coming weeks.
Blanton will be sentenced on the child rape and sexual battery charges Wednesday.
