FBI Media Release
Special Agent in Charge Manuel E. Mora
660 Mesa Hills Drive El Paso, TX 79912
To: All print and broadcast media
Contact: Special Agent Andrea Simmons, 915.832.5373
February 7, 2007
Fugitive Sighted in El Paso
The El Paso Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is asking the public’s assistance in locating a California fugitive. David John Sprong, Jr., a man wanted on multiple charges related to the alleged molestation of young girls, may be traveling in the El Paso, Texas, area.
Sprong may be traveling with his longtime girlfriend, Lynn Rodaer, and their 10-year-old daughter, Justine. Sprong is an auto mechanic by trade. He is described as a white male, approximately 6’0” tall, 225 lbs. with brown hair and green eyes. He is believed to be driving a 1997 green Infinity Sports Utility Vehicle with a gold band along the bottom of the vehicle. Within the past week, Sprong may have checked in to a central El Paso hotel or may have recently moved in to an apartment or home in the area.
On March 17, 2006, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court of California, and a warrant issued alleging that Sprong failed to appear for a bond revocation hearing. He was to be remanded to custody during a March 17, 2006, pre-trial hearing meant to consolidate multiple molestation charges against Sprong and to add a life enhancement for multiple victims by a habitual sex offender. Sprong was freed on a $1 million bond, having been previously charged with multiple counts of digital penetration, oral copulation, and fondling of female minors. A federal arrest warrant charging Sprong with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution was issued on March 22, 2006, by the Sacramento, California, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The investigation has revealed Sprong, who also uses the alias John Ellison, lived in Humble, Texas, outside of Houston, where he operated an auto repair shop.
Sprong has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and is listed on her Child Sexual Predator Watch List. Oprah Winfrey is offering a $100,000 reward of her own money to any citizen who assists in providing information which leads to Sprong’s capture. This past Saturday evening, Sprong was featured on the America’s Most Wanted television program for the second time. Sprong is believed to have left his rented home in Humble, Texas, shortly after the show was originally broadcast on 01/27/2007. He was then sighted this week in El Paso after he was featured a second time on America’s Most Wanted.
Anyone with information concerning this case, is asked to contact the El Paso office of the FBI at 915-832-5000.