WILLINGTON, CT — A former emergency dispatcher from Auburn was arrested Sunday, accused of planning to meet a 15-year-old boy in Connecticut for sex.
Police arrested 45-year-old Shawn Arnold, a trucker, after an activist group lured him to a truck stop and then held him until state troopers arrived.
Shawn Arnold Connecticut State Police photo
Arnold, who has a history of sex offenses in Maine, was charged with attempting to entice a minor by a computer, second degree sexual assault and criminal attempt risk of injury to a child.
Investigators said Arnold thought he was talking to a 15-year-old boy when he made plans to meet the teen in Willington, Connecticut, on Sunday. When he arrived, police said, Arnold was instead greeted by the activist group, which confronted Arnold with cameras in hand.
According to the Journal Inquirer, a publication in Manchester, Connecticut, Arnold was arraigned Monday in Vernon Superior Court on felony charges of attempted second-degree sexual assault, attempted risk of injury to a child, and enticing a minor via computer.
Conviction for attempted second-degree sexual assault carries a penalty of nine months to 20 years in prison. Arnold was being held Wednesday on $100,000 bond. A hearing has been scheduled from June.
In 2006, Arnold was placed on the Maine Sex Offender Registry after he was convicted in Auburn on two counts of possession of sexually explicit material of a minor. The victim in that case was younger than 14 years old, according to court records.
Arnold remained on the registry for 10 years.
Information from WGME was used in this report.
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