A British citizen who according to UK media faces child sex charges at home was arrested on Wednesday evening in Siem Reap and was set to be deported, according to a police official.

Chea Kimsan, Siem Reap immigration police chief, said UK national Damien Midgley, 39, was arrested on Wednesday at the Khmer Kitchen on Pub Street. An assistant manager at the restaurant denied the arrest took place there.

According to a December 2014 report in York news site The Press, Midgley was accused of molesting four children but fled to Thailand after being released on bail. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest. The trial proceeded without him, and a jury found him guilty in absentia. He was sentenced to six years in jail.

Kimsan said Midgley was arrested at 11:05pm, adding that the Cambodian immigration department provided information for the police to search for him, as he was believed to be in Siem Reap.

“He was sent to the deportation centre near the [Siem Reap] international airport,” Kimsan said, adding that he was unable to say where the Briton would be deported to or when.

A spokeswoman for Britain’s National Crime Office yesterday confirmed the arrest and said her office was “liaising with the Cambodian authorities and North Yorkshire Police to facilitate his return to the UK,” though she would not address the specific charges.

Additional reporting by Donna M Airoldi