The use of the internet by sexual predators is an increasing problem as a registered sex offender is now facing new charges in Gilford.
David Ferland, 37, of Laconia was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly lured a pair of teenage girls to a spot behind a local movie theater and traded alcohol for sexual favors, police said.
Ferland allegedly groomed his victim on the Internet and via text message to set up the encounter, police said.
Gilford police said the parents of a 15-year-old girl found illicit text messages on a phone the girl wasn’t supposed to have.
“They brought the phone and the daughter into the police department, and the daughter informed us she had contact with a male over the Internet, went on text messaging and meeting at the Gilford Cinema 8,” said Sgt. Dustin Parent of the Gilford Police Department.
The girl and a 15-year-old female friend met the man behind the cinema where sexual acts were performed in exchange for alcohol, police said. Investigators identified the man as Ferland.
“The detective bureau at the Gilford Police Department did a great job in terms of finding out other postings that Mr. Ferland had online through Craigslist seeking sexual favors from various people,” Parent said. “In two different postings, there was identification in the background, personal items, bureaus.”
Officers showed the photos to parole and probation officers familiar with Ferland’s apartment, and they confirmed the items seen in the background were his, police said.
Barred from using the Internet because of prior convictions, Ferland was taken to jail immediately on a parole violation, police said.
Ferland faces one count of felonious sexual assault against one of the 15-year-old girls. Police said additional charges are expected for alleged physical contact with the second girl during the incident.
Online records show Ferland was convicted in 2003 on 21 counts of child pornography along with multiple assaults against a teen victim.
“He has several sexual assaults, at least nine on two different cases, so it’s something that he has been at for a while,” Parent said.
Ferland will remain in jail over the Christmas holiday and faces arraignment in Laconia Circuit Court on Thursday morning.
Police said they were glad to have Ferland behind bars and added that the case shows that it is always a good idea to speak regularly to kids about cellphone and Internet use, and online safety.
Blog from media sources, including WMUR-TV, Channel 9, Manchester, NH.
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