LEWISTON — A 22-year-old Lewiston man has been indicted on nearly a dozen charges that he sexually abused a local boy and tried to compel the victim to lie about it.

Zachary Tomaselli of 425 College St. is charged with gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual touching and tampering with a victim, as well as multiple counts of unlawful sexual contact and visual sexual aggression against a child.

According to the indictment, Tomaselli began subjecting the boy, who was under the age of 14, to sexual contact in August 2009.

On Aug. 1 and then several times over the next two weeks, Tomaselli is accused of exposing himself to the boy. According to the court documents, that activity advanced later in the month to touching and sexual contact. Then, on Aug. 22, investigators say Tomaselli began engaging in  sex acts with the boy.

According to the court document, Tomaselli continued sexually abusing the boy into late summer of 2009. In the summer of 2010, on the first of July, Tomaselli is accused once more of subjecting the boy to sexual contact.

Then, in September 2010, investigators say Tomaselli learned he was being investigated in the matter and that he attempted to convince the alleged victim to withhold information.

It was not clear how Tomaselli first came into contact with the alleged victim. According to his Facebook page, Tomaselli is from Salina, Kan., but spent part of his teen years in New York. On his Facebook page, he describes himself as a sports fan and storm chaser.

In the summer of 2010, Tomaselli was convicted of providing liquor to a minor. He paid a $500 fine.

On April 13, Lewiston police served a warrant at Tomaselli’s home on College Street. He was arrested on the charges outlined in the indictment. He has since been released from the Androscoggin County Jail pending a future court hearing.