Convicted sex offender back behind bars after mom helped him escape prison

A convicted sex offender was back behind bars on Monday after he managed to escape from a Texas prison after his mother slipped him a disguise.

Robert Yancy Jr., 39, was arrested about 45 miles southwest of the Brazoria County prison on Monday after fleeing from the Matagorda County lockup one day earlier, according to County Officials.

Two people have been busted for helping Yancy hatch the plan and make his daring escape.

Yancy’s mother, Leonor Priestle, has been charged with permitting/facilitating her son’s escape, while her boyfriend, Russell Williams, has been charged with criminal intent to escape, authorities said. Yancy was also slapped with felony escape charges.

The debacle began on Sunday when Priestle visited her son at the prison on Sunday while wearing a black sweater and beanie. The mom somehow passed the items to Yancy and he quickly changed outfits without being noticed, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Clemens Unit (TDCJ) told ABC13

Priestle also allegedly gave her sex criminal son an ID badge that allowed him to exit the prison. Even though the ID badge didn’t have his name on it, Yancy was able to waltz out of the prison with his mother at about 3:38 p.m. without the correctional officers noticing the ruse.

Authorities revealed that Priestle was a former TDCJ correctional officer, and worked at the McConnell Unit in Beeville from March 2010 to September 2011.

Officials speculated that Yancy’s mother had inside information from that previous job to help him leave the guarded facility unnoticed.

After they walked out of the prison, Yancy and his mother hopped into a 2021 white Nissan Versa and drove off, according to the Brazoria County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office. After cops discovered they had an inmate on the loose, the mother’s Nissan’s license plate was entered into a statewide plate reader system.

Priestle was pulled over by police at a traffic light shortly before 8:30 p.m. Sunday, about 110 miles west of the prison, but her escapee son was nowhere to be found. She was taken into custody for an outstanding felony warrant related to Yancy’s escape from prison.

It remained unclear on Sunday what role her boyfriend, Williams, played in her son’s escape.

Luckily, parkgoers alerted to the escape recognized Yancy at the FM 521 River Park and called authorities on Monday.

Yancy reportedly tried using the prison ID he was allegedly given by his mother as his own when confronted by police but eventually confessed.

The escapee was still wearing his white prison clothes in a photo released by the prison.

Yancy is currently serving his life sentence without parole at the prison’s Clemens Unit after he was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child for repeatedly abusing a 7-year-old girl over three years, authorities said.

It took the jury only 23 minutes to deliberate his sentence during his two-day trial in May 2022, according to the Victoria Advocate.

“We want to thank everyone involved for working together and capturing this dangerous individual as quickly as possible,” TDCJ said following his capture.

The Brazoria County Detention Center is about 40 miles southwest of Houston.

Yancy was the second inmate to escape from the Clemens Unit this year, according to ABC13. On Oct. 6, Cadarion Avery — who was an inmate at a housing location outside the main prison for inmates serving non-violent sentences — walked away from the unit but was found nearby soon after.

TDCJ said the unit was looking into security processes and investigating areas to improve.