An American fugitive wanted over an alleged child rape in the US 30 years ago has been arrested in the Philippines.

Young Tom Talmadge, 69, reportedly molested a girl before fleeing from his home state of Florida in 1989.

While on the run, he arrived in the Philippines, where he met his wife, Geraldine, and began volunteering at local nurseries.

The pair married in 2018 and had a seemingly perfect family life in Cavite province, where Talmadge helped with local community projects as was fondly referred to as 'uncle' by youngsters.

However, US officials were tipped off about his new life and matched DNA from the historic crime with his saliva from a coffee cup while they were tracing him.

Local police stormed their home on April 23, following an arrest warrant from the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County.

Dramatic footage shows immigration officers pulling Talmadge out of his residence, which was tucked in a cramped alley lined with homes and small sundry stores.

Authorities read Talmadge his Miranda rights while his shocked wife could only stutter in disbelief.

While speaking to a Homeland Security special agent, Talmadge said: 'I've been here legally for about 14, 15 months now. I was unaware of any issues at all.

'It's okay, guys. Everybody relax. I'm gonna co-operate with you all, whatever. There's no problem here, okay?'

Police then escorted the American to a van to be taken to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) office in Manila.

Authorities said the preserved DNA specimen from the child rape case allegedly matched Talmadge's DNA, leading to the joint arrest by the BI and their US counterparts.

They said they had obtained his recent DNA sample from a coffee cup he used at a cafe several months ago.

The alleged fugitive was said to have lived an unassuming life trying to build a perfect family in a sleepy town in Cavite, some 20 miles away from the busy capital Manila.

Residents said he was 'kind and attentive' toward his wife and the locals.

A neighbour said: 'I don't know the couple personally, but I often see them at school during meetings. The American is a fellow officer at the local kindergarten. I always see him dropping off and fetching his kids.'

Talmadge was being held at the BI detention facility in Intramuros pending prosecution.