WILTON – A Waterville man has been ordered to stay in his house, except for work, a medical emergency or attorney appointments, after police charged him with sexual abuse of a minor.

Jeffrey Thompson, 28, was also charged with aggravated furnishing scheduled drugs – marijuana – to a minor, Franklin County sheriff’s Detective David St. Laurent said Tuesday.

On Feb. 2, Wilton police officer Ed Leahy responded to a verbal dispute at a house in Wilton. During his interview at the home, he was told a 15-year-old girl there was having intimate relations with a 28-year-old man, St. Laurent said.

Police Chief Dennis Brown notified the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department of the situation and St. Laurent investigated the matter through an interview with the girl and witnesses.

According to the affidavit St. Laurent filed in support of an arrest warrant with the court, witnesses at the house said that a girl and the man were having sexual relations. Witnesses also said the girl and Thompson had recently gotten engaged and talked about having a child together, the document states.

The witnesses went on to say that Thompson, who had been staying at the Wilton residence, bought beer for them (the witnesses) and the girl and brought marijuana to the house to smoke outside with the teenager.

During an interview with the girl, she admitted that she and Thompson were sexually active, that he lived with her and that they were engaged, St. Laurent’s affidavit says. She also admitted that Thompson had provided her with marijuana and beer, the officer wrote.

The detective said he contacted Thompson by phone and asked him to come talk to him, but he declined. He told Thompson the details of the case and Thompson denied having sex with the girl or living with her. He also denied giving her or anyone else in the house marijuana or alcohol.

At the end of the interview, Thompson agreed to come in to talk with the detective, but never showed, St. Laurent said.

A warrant was sought and Waterville police went to Thompson’s address at 202 Water St. at 2 a.m. Saturday to search for him. He was discovered hiding in a closet and was arrested without incident, St. Laurent said.

Thompson was initially held on $5,000 cash bail, which was lowered to $1,000 unsecured bail with several conditions, after his appearance in court Monday in Farmington, the detective said.

Besides remaining at his residence, Thompson was ordered not to have contact, indirect or direct, with the victim or witnesses, not to use or possess any illegal drugs and to have no contact with anyone under 16 years of age except for his children.

Thompson was released Monday from the Franklin County jail in Farmington.

A trial date was set for April 27.