PHOENIX — An Arizona man who fled the United States years ago while on probation for sex crimes was arrested earlier this month in France, where he was charged with sexual assault of a child, authorities said.
Michael Robert Wiseman, 51, was living in Quilstatette in north-eastern France when he was arrested on November 1. Investigators discovered that Wiseman had traveled to Vietnam and Poland before settling in France.
Scottsdale Police Sgt. Dustin Patrick told Phoenix TV 12News that Wiseman was captured after he tried to apply for a pilot's license in Spain using his real name. Patrick said investigators discovered that Wiseman had adopted two children in Vietnam and obtained a legal Polish passport under an alias.
“His potential employer Googled his name and discovered he was on the Scottsdale Most Wanted list and called authorities in Spain,” Patrick said.
It was the second time Wiseman fled the US with the 2008 case in Arizona hanging over his head.
While his charges were still pending, Wiseman cut off his ankle monitoring device and left the country in late 2008. The fugitive was arrested in 2009 in Spain, brought back to Arizona and found guilty in metro Phoenix of three counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one charge of escape.
The charges related to child sexual abuse material found on his computer.
In an interview with a probation officer, Wiseman said he left the country for the first time after growing tired of the difficulties of leaving his wife after his 2008 arrest, as well as financial difficulties, according to court records.
Wiseman, who spent more than two years in prison after returning from Spain, was sentenced in 2012 to life probation and one year of prison time suspended. The additional imprisonment was later overturned by a judge in at least one of the two Arizona cases.
Authorities then said he fled the United States for a second time after his 2012 conviction.
The lawyer who last represented Wiseman in his criminal case is no longer a public defender, and attempts to locate him through a lawyer directory and Internet searches have been unsuccessful.
Scottsdale police say Wiseman will be extradited to the United States after his French case is resolved. Arizona prosecutors say there is no timetable for extradition.
