CHESTERVILLE – A convicted sex offender was accused this weekend of committing sex crimes against an adult woman and two teenage girls under the ruse of giving them massages.

A family friend had introduced Christopher Cates, 32, of Oakland, to the victims after the friend met him through the Internet, police said.

Cates was arrested Sunday on charges of felony unlawful sexual contact and misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact and was also charged with the misdemeanor of unlawful sexual touching, Franklin County Sheriff’s Detective David St. Laurent said Monday.

A probation hold was also put on him by Kennebec County, he said, because one of his probation conditions is no contact with females under age 18.

Cates’ bail was initially set at $10,000 cash but was reduced to $5,000 cash or $50,000 surety after an appearance before a judge Monday, a corrections officer said.

The Franklin County department received a complaint from the woman Sunday alleging that Cates inappropriately touched her and two girls, who are under age 18 but older than 15, during the weekend in their private areas, buttocks and breasts during massages, St. Laurent said.

Cates was introduced to them by a family friend and offered to give the females massages, St. Laurent said.

They agreed and Cates took them one at a time, starting with the girls, to a bedroom to give them the massages, he said.

The woman became suspicious afterward and looked Cates’ name up on the Maine Sex Offender Registry and discovered he was a convicted sex offender in Kennebec County, the detective said.

Cates has been previously convicted of unlawful sexual contact charges and is on probation for an unlawful sexual contact conviction that he had served time in prison on and had been released, St. Laurent said.

Sheriff’s Cpl. Steve Charles, St. Laurent and Farmington officer Mary Hastings were conducting a search of the Farmington area for Cates when a vehicle matching his was seen and a traffic stop was made about 3:30 p.m.

St. Laurent said he is interested in hearing from people who may have also been contacted by Cates on the Internet or may have had an inappropriate massage. To contact him, call the sheriff’s department at 778-2680.