Grand jury indicts Newton County man with 25-year history of sexually abusing children for failure to register

For at least four and a half months, a sex offender with a documented 25-year history of sexually abusing children has been in Newton County.

Today, a federal grand jury indicted Gabriel Melchor, 52, for failure to register.

Melchor's presence in Missouri triggered the federal Adam's Law since U. S. marshals have been searching for him since August 2017 when he failed to register in Texas for a third time.

Deputy U. S. Marshal Brandon Filla told the CBS affiliate in Austin, Texas, about Melchor's background.

"The original offense was in the early 2000s where it pertained to indecency with a child by contact," said Deputy U.S. Marshal, Brandon Filla. 

The victims in the case were 13 and 14-years-old, and Melchor has a criminal history dating back to 1988 -- including another charge of sexual assault of a child back in 1993. 

"He's been charged twice and convicted for failure to comply with sex offender registration. During those convictions, he served two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, so this is something that's not new to him," said Filla.

According to today's indictment, Melchor has been in Newton County "beginning on an unknown date, but as early as October 10, 2018 and continuing through February 19, 2019, said dates being approximate in Newton County and elsewhere in the Western District of Missouri.

The indictment contains few details otherwise.