MANAGUA (AFP) - Nicaragua deported to the United States on Thursday a fugitive American wanted by Interpol on child pornography charges, officials said on Thursday.

Cory Michael Papp, 37, pleaded guilty in US federal court in 2009 but fled before sentencing.

Papp came to Nicaragua on December 21 through the border with Honduras and was arrested on January 1 in the central province of Chontales as he headed to a Caribbean port, Nicaraguan police said in a statement.

It noted that the International Criminal Police Organisation had asked that Papp be extradited to the United States "to be prosecuted for the crime of child pornography". Papp was detained with an expired passport as he boarded a taxi during an inspection at a police checkpoint, legal police official Glenda Zabal told official media.

The fugitive was arrested after consulting with the US Embassy on his status.

Papp was seen watching child porn images on computers on July 31 and August 1, 2007 in the Valley Library at Oregon State University, according to the FBI.

Police arrested him and found several CDs containing child porn and child erotica during a search of the computer hard drives and the backpack Papp had with him.

Computer forensics conducted by Oregon State Police found more than 2,237 images of minors, including ones who hadn't yet reached puberty, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified a number of known victims of child sexual abuse among the images Papp had with him.

Papp's arrest in Nicaragua marked the fourth apprehension and deportation of a fugitive alien there in the last year.

Nicaragua has announced plans to extradite more than 350 foreign prisoners serving sentences in the country, most related to drug trafficking.

On December 23, it deported the first group of inmates - 22 Mexicans, including 18 people posing as Televisa journalists who were arrested with US$9.2 million in cash illegally in their possession.