HUDSON, N.H. (AP) – Seven people, including a University of New Hampshire professor, have been arrested on a charge of trying to solicit sex online from minors.
Hillsborough County officials said the arrests came after a task force involving police departments in several cities and towns was organized last month.
Over the course of two weeks, officers met with the suspects online and posed as juveniles.
Hillsborough County Attorney Marguerite Wageling said the Cybersafe Task Force focused on chat rooms popular with kids. She said the men who were arrested come from varied backgrounds, but they were all using chat rooms to hunt for young victims. Some had traveled to meet with the minors they thought they were corresponding with.
“They are not necessarily the individuals in trench coats hiding in the bushes, but rather, they are people standing beside you in day-to-day activity,” Wageling said. “They are slick, and they are phenomenal conversationalists.”
Among those arrested was UNH mechanical engineering professor David Watt, 49, of Durham. UNH said Watt has been placed on leave and prohibited from being on campus.
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said she will be pushing the Legislature to pass a law that will provide tougher penalties for people convicted of soliciting minors online.
Information from: WMUR-TV, http://www.thewmurchannel.com/index.html
AP-ES-09-07-06 1825EDT
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