Veteran N.H. sports reporter arrested on prostitution-related charges

Police arrested a veteran Union Leader sports reporter at his Manchester home earlier today in connection with prostitution-related charges in Northern Massachusetts.

Officers took Kevin Provencher into custody for allegedly deriving income from prostitution. He reportedly waived arraignment in Manchester District Court before he was escorted to the Bay State to answer to the two felony charges the Andover Police Department filed against him.

The Union Leader reported on its Web site Provencher has been with the paper for more than 25 years. He has been the publication's beat reporter for the Manchester Monarchs--an American Hockey League team in the Queen City--since 2001. Provencher has been the Union Leader's primary NASCAR correspondent at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon since 1990. And the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association have honored him for his reporting.

The newspaper declined to comment on his arrest, but it did announce it had suspended Provencher due to the "nature and seriousness of the charges."