Fugitive Sex Offender Captured in Florida

CONCORD, NH - U.S. Marshals from the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested New Hampshire fugitive, Michael Gillen, at a Sarasota, FL, residence, according to a press statement from Deputy Marshal Jeffrey White.

Gillen, 33, was wanted by the Hampton NH Police Department for failing to maintain his sex offender registration. Gillen is required to register as a sex offender due to his 2001 convictions in Rockingham County Superior Court for six counts of felonious sexual assault on a victim between the ages of 13-16, with an age difference greater than three years, as well as 14 counts of possession of child pornography (under 16).

Gillen is considered to be a tier 3 sex offender, which is considered to be the most likely to re-offend, according to White.

Gillen had been featured as the U.S. Marshals, “Fugitive of the Week” back on Sept. 9, 2015. The feature produced "several tips in the Gillen case since September," according to White.

"The most recent tips were pointing to the Sarasota, Florida, area, where Gillen was living under an assumed name of Michael Allen," White noted. "After extensive research and investigation, the task force was able to zero in on Gillen’s location this morning. When Gillen was arrested, he used the name of Michael Allen, but quickly admitted to his true identity as Michael Gillen."

Gillen was transported to the Sarasota County Jail, where he will be processed and held as a fugitive from justice on the outstanding Hampton arrest warrant.

U.S. Marshal David Cargill, Jr., said “The purpose of the sex offender registry is to help protect our children from offenders like Gillen, who are deemed likely to re-offend. The U.S. Marshals Service takes great pride in tracking down these fugitives as they attempt to hide from the law.”