CONCORD, NH – This morning, the U.S. Marshals, New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force was able to locate and arrest one of Massachusetts’ Most Wanted Sex Offenders. Richard Fleurant, 79, formerly of Weymouth, Massachusetts was wanted for two counts of failure to register as a sex offender. Fleurant is required to register as a sex offender due to convictions in 1977 for four counts of unnatural and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 16, for which he was sentenced to serve a 25-40 year prison sentence.
On September 13, Fleurant was added to the Massachusetts Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, which started a cooperative investigation between the Massachusetts State Police and the US Marshals Service. This investigation led the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force to a campground in the 600 block of Route 28 in Pembroke. At this campground, the investigators were able to locate and arrest Fleurant inside a camper after he refused to answer the door.
Fleurant was transferred to the Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office for processing as a fugitive from justice based on the outstanding arrest warrants out of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Fleurant will be held at the Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, NH pending his initial court appearance and eventual return to Massachusetts.
This arrest was a culmination of efforts by the following agencies; U.S. Marshals in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Police, the Belknap, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford County Sheriff’s Offices, Federal Protective Service, as well as the Greenfield and Allenstown (NH) Police Departments.
U.S. Marshal Enoch F. Willard said, “I am extremely happy that all of these agencies worked together to arrest this dangerous level 3 sex offender.” Willard continued, “Crossing from one state to another to avoid arrest only delays the inevitable…we will find you and arrest you!”
Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 7,253 arrests (Updated as of 04/29/2018). These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses. Nationally the United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 8 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
