Salem man charged in sexual abuse of child, 12

April 01--SALEM -- A registered sex offender from Salem has been arrested on new charges of aggravated child rape and child enticement, after police say he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child in his Mason Street apartment earlier this month.

Scott Deschenes, 26, of 77 Mason St., a Level 2 sex offender, was taken into custody Friday morning on a warrant. He is also charged with witness intimidation, court records show.

He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing April 7 to determine whether he is too dangerous to release while awaiting trial.

According to a police report, the mother of the victim brought the child to the police station, Thursday afternoon. The child asked to be interviewed separately.

The child told investigators he'd met "Scott D." through a friend. The child met Deschenes once in downtown Salem, at the Museum Place Mall.

After that, the child and Deschenes communicated on Snapchat, and the child said Deschenes made sexually-explicit comments such as "You're cute, I wish I could touch you," and "I like little boys."

One day in mid-March, Deschenes allegedly sent a message inviting the child to "hang out" at his home "to play video games and chill." Deschenes then picked up the child in downtown Salem.

The child, who was nervous, sent a Snapchat message to a friend saying, "If I go missing tell police 77 Mason St.". He also sent a photo of the hallway leading to the apartment.

Once at the apartment Deschenes pushed the child onto a bed, held him down and sexually assaulted him, the child said.

Deschenes, he said, told him that if he told anyone "like police" what had happened, "I will hurt you."

In 2011, Deschenes, then 20, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of indecent assault and battery on a child and child enticement in a 2009 incident in Salisbury and was sentenced to a total of four years in jail, followed by probation, according to court records.

The 13-year-old child in that case met Deschenes at a skateboard park and then agreed to visit his home during the Christmas school vacation. During that visit, Deschenes sexually assaulted the child.

Deschenes continued to contact the child, asking him to pose for sexually explicit web videos and telling him they could make money doing that. The child lied, telling Deschenes he was grounded, to get out of it.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

___

(c)2017 The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.)

Visit The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.) at www.salemnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.