Howard Ernest Pritt

The long arm of Denton County Crime Stoppers reached as far as Thailand recently and nabbed one of the county’s most wanted fugitives.

Howard Ernest Pritt, 48, whose listed address is in Lewisville, was wanted on outstanding felony warrants for three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child with sexual contact.

Denton County Sher­iff’s Sgt. Roger Griggs, who oversees the Crime Stoppers program, said Wednesday that Pritt was apprehended last week in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, 160 miles northeast of Bangkok. The arrest was made possible by a Crime Stoppers tip.

“The $1,000 reward is in Thailand now, waiting for pickup,” Griggs said.

Pritt was arrested by Lewisville police in January 2000 and indicted in January 2002 on the charges that involved a child under the age of 14. Bond was set at $50,000.

He fled, however, and had not been heard of until recently, when a tipster in Thailand contacted Crime Stoppers on May 28 by e-mail with information about Pritt’s whereabouts.

Griggs used the Crime Stoppers “TipSoft” follow-up feature to communicate with the tipster. Crime Stoppers ensures confidentiality, and tipsters remain anonymous.

“I was able to communicate with the tipster via a unique and sophisticated encryption delivery system that ensures complete anonymity to the tipster,” Griggs said. “Over the next two weeks, enough information was obtained from the tipster to verify Pritt’s exact location. This information was shared with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Denton County District Attorney’s Office and the Royal Thai Police.”

Pritt was featured on Denton County’s top 10 most wanted list in April at the request of District Attorney Investigator Dugan Broomfield, Griggs said. The district attorney has a board with photos of the 50 criminals most wanted at any given time and information about their last known whereabouts.

Griggs said he received good news from the tipster on Aug. 13.

“It has taken over two months, but as of today Howard Pritt is finally behind bars,” the tipster wrote. “He was arrested at 6 p.m. local time by the Royal Thai Police.”

The U.S. Marshals Service now has Pritt in custody, Griggs said. He will be brought back to Denton County to face the charges.

Tom Whitlock, who heads the felony division at the District Attorney’s Office, said Pritt was expected to be brought back into the continental United States today.

“We’ve had him on our top-50 list since November of 2007,” Whitlock said. “A marshal called me and talked to me about the responsibilities of each agency. The Marshals are footing the bill to get him to the U.S., and we will be paying to get him here.”

Whitlock said he will be looking at filing additional charges for fleeing when Pritt is back in Denton County.

“I imagine he felt pretty safe in Thailand,” Whitlock said. “But he was wrong.”

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests. Callers remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477).