Two police officers in the Northern Marianas under the direction of the Department of Corrections have escorted an alleged child molester Sean McDonnell back to Illinois in the US Mainland.

The extradition was unique because normally Mr McDonnell would have been fetched from Saipan by officers from the corrections facility in Illinois where he will be detained.

The new arrangement came about because the corrections facility in Illinois was having trouble setting up extradition procedures in the CNMI.

Mr McDonnell was arrested through a joint effort between the US Marshals and the Department of Public Safety on Saipan last October.

He is wanted in the county of Rock Island in Illinois, on multiple charges of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

The CNMI attorney general Edward Manibusan said his office was on top of ensuring that criminals won't look at the CNMI as a possible haven where fugitives from justice can hide.

He said McDonnell was an example of how the CNMI can catch people wanted in the mainland US through its access to the National Crime Information Center and Interpol.