Man arrested for alleged child molestation in 1995 in New Hampshire

By Jeremy C. Fox, Globe Correspondent

A retired US Air Force sergeant indicted on charges of molesting a child in New Hampshire was arrested Friday in Los Angeles, US Marshals said.

Deputy US Marshals arrested Robert Joseph Manship at Los Angeles International Airport after Philippine immigration authorities had deported him, according to a statement from the US Marshals Service.

Hudson, N.H., police initially questioned Manship in 1995, after a child was sexually assaulted on US Air Force properties, the Marshals Service said. Authorities believe Manship fled from the US some time after that interview.

New allegations surfaced in 2009, and Manship was indicted on two felony charges of sexual assault on a child. Earlier this year, US Marshals found Manship collecting an Air Force pension and living in the Philippines, where he had tried to renew his passport at the US Embassy in 2008.

Philippine law enforcement arrested Manship Aug. 1, and Philippine immigration authorities put him on a plane to Los Angeles, where he will be held pending extradition to New Hampshire to face charges.