Suspect Faces New Charges: Relationship With Teen Alleged
By David Owens, The Hartford Courant, Conn.
Jun. 20–WEST HARTFORD — A Tolland man out on bail after being charged last year with sexually assaulting teenage girls was arrested Tuesday and charged with starting a relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
Scott C. Shefelbine, 32, of 167 Mountain Springs Road, was charged in an arrest warrant Tuesday with risk of injury to a minor and two counts of disorderly conduct, West Hartford police said.
Shefelbine told the 14-year-old girl he was 17, police said. He is accused of establishing the relationship by sending Internet instant messages to the girl. The relationship progressed to Shefelbine’s meeting with the girl, police said.
The Internet messaging and meeting in West Hartford allegedly occurred in 2007. Shefelbine has been under electronic monitoring by the bail commissioner’s office in the Tolland Judicial District since his initial arrest last fall on a host of sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor charges.
During an arraignment in Superior Court in Rockville in October 2006, a judge ordered Shefelbine to have no contact with girls 18 and under and to not use the Internet. Shefelbine was also ordered to wear a monitoring device on his ankle.
The warrant for Shefelbine’s arrest Tuesday was not available. Past warrants, however, paint a picture of an older man portraying himself to teenage girls and their parents as 17 or 19, then pressuring the girls for sex. He has been accused in crimes involving at least seven girls.
Shefelbine is also accused of forcibly raping a woman who is now 20. That incident, for which Shefelbine was arrested in January, occurred in his bedroom at his parents’ home, according to another warrant for his arrest.
The investigation of Shefelbine began at 12:33 a.m. Aug. 16 when Vernon police Officer Todd Thiel came upon Shefelbine and a 16-year-old girl parked at Henry Park in Rockville, police said. When Thiel asked the teen why she was hanging out with a 31-year-old man, she protested that he was only 19.
Thiel then showed the girl Shefelbine’s identification, which showed he was 31. She began to cry. Thiel interviewed the girl, who provided the names of other girls she knew who had contact with Shefelbine, police said.
Shefelbine posted $100,000 bail on the latest charges Tuesday night. His parents have posted bonds totaling more than $1 million for his previous arrests.
Contact David Owens at dowens@courant.com.
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