Convicted Sex Offender Strikes Again

Joseph Fontana seemed like a wonderful guy to a woman he met at church. But cops say the man who went by his middle name, "Christian" was full of evil. Now, the hunt is on for a registered sex offender who has dozens of new charges filed against him.

When Joseph Christian Fontana suddenly showed up in Santa Rosa County, Florida cops say he was trying to hide his real identity by dropping his first name.  "Christian" showed up at a local church and became good friends with a single mother. Investigators say she was impressed by the man who took part in church functions and even sang in the church choir. The two began dating and he became a father figure to the woman's three children.

Uncovering Fontana's True Identity

Cops say the woman had no idea that Fontana was a registered sex offender from the Fort Walton Beach area. Although he was supposed to alert authorities when he moved, investigators say Fontana failed to do so and disappeared in 2001.

That's when he apparently showed up in Santa Rosa County and cops say he started his spate of sex crimes again. While Fontana's new friend thought he was a great role model for her children, investigators believe he had been sexually abusing her two young boys for years. Now, Fontana is charged with 25 counts of sexual assault and 25 counts of lewd and lascivious behavior -- and he's disappeared again. 

AMW Capture #1070

Sex Offender Arrested In The Dominican Republic

Cops say Joseph Fontana had been on the run for nearly three years when U.S. Marshals arrested him in the Dominican Republic on June 5, 2009.

The America's Most Wanted hotline received a tip that placed him there, and federal law enforcement officials followed it to the fugitive's location.

Fontana is accused of sexually assaulting children, and cops say when he found out they were investigating him, he took off.

"We couldn't have done it without [AMW]," Det. Paul Lio of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office said.

Fontana is charged 25 counts of Sexual Assault and Lewd and Lascivious Behavior.