The U.S. Marshals Service has arrested a Maine man who fled to Virginia after facing sexual assault charges stemming from incidents in Clinton, according to officials.
Oscar Geovanny Melgar-Flores was arrested Tuesday on charges of unlawful sexual contact, unlawful sexual touching and furnishing liquor to a minor, following an investigation that included multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Clinton Police Department.
Clinton police Chief Rusty Bell said his agency assisted the Marshals Service with local contacts and resources, as multiple agencies coordinated because of various states involved.
“Once everyone realized they were out of state, we helped them when they got ahold of us,” Bell said.
Melgar-Flores allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old, and fled to Virginia after the alleged victim’s parents alerted the Clinton Police Department and Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.
In Maryland, the Towson Precinct of the Baltimore County Police recovered Melgar-Flores’ abandoned vehicle, according to reports.
The alleged assault occurred April 3. Three days later, Kennebec County Superior Court issued a warrant for Melgar-Flores’ arrest.
Given the many states involved, a variety of agencies participated in the investigation.
Melgar-Flores was living in Clinton at the time of the alleged crime, Bell said, and had a 17-year-old girlfriend who also lived in Clinton.
Clinton police later learned that Melgar-Flores returned to Clinton in a different vehicle, and picked up his girlfriend and their then 11-month-old daughter. At the time, it was unclear if the girl and child had left willingly.
“We did the background info with the family, her mother — the grandmother of the baby — and all of those kinds of things,” Bell said. “If they had gone, we didn’t know at the time if they had gone to, let’s say, Virginia or Rhode Island. We were making sure they weren’t local.”
Clinton police put out a missing person alert for the girlfriend so if she were located, it would connect her to Melgar-Flores.
The U.S. Marshals Service from the Eastern District of Virginia and task force officers from the Newport News Police Department in Virginia conducted surveillance at a residence they believed to be associated with Melgar-Flores, according to information from the Marshals Service.
They were able to arrest Melgar-Flores at the residence and locate the girlfriend and the baby, who were determined to be there of their own will.
Melgar-Flores was taken to the Newport News City Jail on a fugitive from justice charge. He is awaiting extradition to Maine.
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