Millionaire Florida Child Porn Convict’s Escape Thwarted
by Jo Ellen Nott
April 12, 2023, would have been Independence Day for Florida millionaire and child porn collector John Manchec – if only someone had not ratted him out, according to Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers.
Manchec, 78, had previously fled the U.S. to France in 2014 to avoid prosecution on child pornography charges after posting a $500,000 bond. Ever since he was recaptured in the Dominican Republic in 2020 and returned to Florida, Manchec has been detained in the Indian River County Jail. Flowers said authorities were tipped off in May 2023 by a jail informant who described the millionaire’s elaborate escape plan to return to France. That tip prompted an investigation that put a halt to the well-planned escape.
The plan was to pepper-spray jail guards who would accompany Manchec to a fake doctor’s appointment and then whisk the older man to his private plane in nearby Fort Pierce for a flight home to France. Manchec, whose millions came from early computer sales in the mid-1970s and aerospace engineering in the 1990s, made his home in nearby Vero Beach. He owns a medieval castle in the South of France which he had renovated and turned into a hotel.
A medical appointment on April 12, 2023, was central to Manchec’s escape plot. Jail phone records revealed he used the code words “paint job” while talking with his employees to indicate his escape. Manchec directed the employees to prepare his plane, his yacht, a black utility van and other vehicles purchased solely for the escape.
Manchec even went as far as paying bail for a fellow prisoner and allowing him to live in his home so that he could abet the escape – even packing Manchec’s suitcase with his favorite liquor. Manchec’s goal was to return to his castle in France and never have to face charges.
The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, however, as Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in 1785. According to Fortune, “Manchec remains in the Indian River County Jail, with additional charges related to the escape. Two inmates and two employees were also arrested and charged with conspiracy in the escape plot.” Manchec now faces 51 charges.
Sources: CBS News, Fortune, Treasure Coast Palm
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