'Most Wanted' Sex Offender Arrested At NH Campground

PEMBROKE, NH -- A "most wanted" sex offender was caught Wednesday hiding out at a New Hampshire campground, authorities said. Richard Fleurant (pictured), 79, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, was found at a campground in Pembroke along Route 28. Fleurant is a Level 3 offender, the designation reserved for the worst offenders at a "high risk" of reoffending, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry. Fleurant was convicted of multiple counts of lascivious acts with a child under the age of 16 in the 1970s.

"Investigators were able to locate and arrest Fleurant inside a camper after he refused to answer the door," New Hampshire U.S. Marshal Enoch Willard said in a statement.

Willard local, state and federal law enforcement officers worked together to find Fleurant.

"I am extremely happy that all of these agencies worked together to arrest this dangerous level 3 sex offender," he added. "Crossing from one state to another to avoid arrest only delays the inevitable…we will find you."

Fleurant was transferred to the custody of the Merrimack County Sheriff's Office pending extradition to Massachusetts.

Fleurant was convicted of four counts of unnatural acts with a child under 16 in 1977 and sentenced to 25-40 years in prison. In addition to his 1977 conviction, his lengthy criminal record in Massachusetts includes carrying a dangerous weapon (machine gun), lewd and lascivious behavior, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, unnatural acts and disseminating obscene material to a minor.

His last known address was in Gardner and he has ties to Weymouth, Boston and central Massachusetts.

Photo credit: New Hampshire Fugitive Task Force

Alex Newman, Patch Staff, contributed to this report