Ex-suspect in Etan Patz disappearance back in prison

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Jose Ramos, the convicted child molester long suspected in the notorious 1979 disappearance of a boy in New York City, will spend six to 20 years in a Pennsylvania prison for failing to register an address under Megan's Law the last time he left prison.

For years, Ramos was the prime suspect in the suspected abduction of Etan Patz, who disappeared while walking to his school bus stop.

A Luzerne County judge handed down the sentence Thursday against the 70-year-old Ramos, who was convicted in January of providing false information to prison officials.

A New Jersey man, Pedro Hernandez, has since been charged.

A civil court held Ramos responsible.

Ramos denies involvement.

He completed a 27-year sentence on unrelated molestation charges in 2012.

Hernandez had been tentatively set to go on trial in April in the case surrounding Etan Patz, but a judge recently said he now anticipates the trial starting in September.

Six-year-old Etan disappeared while walking to his school bus stop in 1979. He was one of the first missing children to appear on a milk carton. The anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children's Day.

Hernandez was arrested in 2012 after police got a tip. The 53-year-old Maple Shade, N.J., resident gave authorities a confession, but his defense argues it was false and prompted by mental illness.