An alleged child sex offender who’s been on the run for four years has been arrested in Cairns.
Police say the 53-year-old failed to appear before the Victorian Courts in relation to more than 30 child sex and indecent assault offences between 2009 and 2012.
Acting Inspector Jason Chetham says the man was arrested at Redlynch Shopping Centre last Thursday after extensive investigations into his whereabouts led to his discovery in the region.
“He was in contact with family members and that was certainly the path we perused when we had that information,”
“We are still running out all the information but we did locate a residence for him in the Redlynch area and we have seized a number of items which we are examining in relation to potential offence committed in Queensland.”
The man appeared before Cairns Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where his extradition to Victoria was granted.
Detectives from Knox Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team travelled to Cairns to escort the man back to Victoria yesterday afternoon.
He is expected to appear before Melbourne County Court today.