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Man arraigned in region's first "sexting" case
Dec 18, 2009 (The Day - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A Ledyard man was arraigned today in the first "sexting" case in New London County.
Stephen Fournier, 24, of 2 Barry Drive, was charged with first-degree possession of child pornography and impairing the morals of a child.
He appeared in the lower level court in New London, and his case was continued to Jan. 5. He is free on a $15,000 bond.
Prosecutor Peter McShane said "sexting," a practice in which nude or semi-nude photos are sent through text messages on cell phones, is a trend rapidly growing among teenagers.
McShane, who has spoken at various forums about the dangers of sexting, said parents need to be more vigilant.
"They have to arm themselves," said McShane. "They need to monitor their kids' phones and the computer sites they are visiting."
State police on April 16 responded to the Mashantucket Tribal Police Station after a complaint of suspicious activity regarding the family of a tribal member.
The complainant, Tiffany Fournier, who lives on the reservation, said her husband, Stephen Fournier, who is not a Mashantucket Pequot, was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old female from Massachusetts, the warrant said.
Tiffany Fournier told police that on April 11 her husband left his cell phone in the family car.
Fournier said she had suspicions that her husband was communicating via cell phone with an underage female who was the ex-girlfriend of his cousin.
She told police she discovered four images of the victim. In two pictures, the victim was clothed and in the other two she was nude, the warrant said.
Fournier said Stephen's cousin recognized the underage female and called her to say she should stop speaking with Stephen.
The warrant said the victim then texted Stephen's phone, which Tiffany still had in her possession. Tiffany told police she pretended to be Stephen and texted the victim to leave him alone.
Stephen's cousin later contacted the victim again and asked if she received nude texts of Stephen.
The victim said she received an explicit picture, the warrant said.
Tiffany Fournier said on April 15 she called the victim's mother and informed her of the inappropriate relationship Tiffany's husband was having with the woman's daughter.
The mother said she would call police. State police in Massachusetts are actively investigating the case, the warrant said.
Police interviewed Stephen Fournier in April at his workplace in Preston.
He told police that on April 4 his cousin was talking to the victim and that he ended up talking to the victim and they exchanged phone numbers even though he knew she was a minor, the warrant said.
Fournier told police over the next few days he and victim texted each other about 50 times and talked to each on the phone about another three times.
Fournier said the victim asked him if he wanted to see nude photos of her, to which he replied yes, the warrant said.
The victim sent him two nude photos of herself and another one with clothes on, Fournier said.
The victim asked Fournier to send a nude photo of himself, which he did.
He told police that he never physically met the victim and that they never communicated through the computer, the warrant said.
He told police that he lost his cell phone on April 13 and purchased a new one but kept the same cell phone number.
On May 4, Tiffany Fournier contacted police, saying she found her estranged husband's cell phone inside the family's vehicle.
Police were able to get a signed consent form from Stephen Fournier, which allowed them to have the phone examined by the state police computer crimes lab.
Police discovered that the victim and Stephen Fournier between April 4 and April 14 texted each other 382 times. They also spoke eight times on the phone. Police also discovered three photo images.
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http://www.theday.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Day, New London, Conn.
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