SEABROOK — Police have charged a second Hampton Falls man with drugging, holding down and raping a woman whom the two men found through an online dating service.
Shawn Hutchins, 32, of 6 Marsh Lane, Hampton Falls, is being held without bail after being charged with two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of assisting his roommate Thomas Currier, 35, sexually assault a 38-year-old woman on Aug. 4 at the home they share at 6 Marsh Lane.
According to court documents from his arraignment at Hampton District Court in Seabrook, Hutchins is charged with two acts of sodomy against the woman while Currier held her down, as well as holding the same woman down while Currier had sexual intercourse with her.
The charges are upgraded to aggravated status, carrying a possible sentence of 20 years in jail per count because Currier allegedly gave the woman a drink that incapacitated her, leaving her unable to defend herself. Police say they don't yet know what was in the drink.
According to Hampton Falls police, Currier works in North Andover at an automotive and diagnostic company. He was arraigned on Aug. 14 on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault for raping a woman he contacted through the Internet sites of Match.com and Plentyoffish.com, police said. Police say Currier lured the woman to his home for dinner, then raped her after giving her the drink laced with a mind-altering drug.
Police said Currier used the name AWalkToRemember08 on Plentyoffish.com, but he could have used other names on this or other sites.
At the Aug. 14 arraignment, Hampton District Court Judge Francis Frasier denied Currier bail, citing his fear for the safety of the community. At Currier's Aug. 27 bail hearing, Frasier set a two-fold bail of $200,000 cash and $200,000 personal recognizance. In addition, numerous bail conditions were set should Currier be able to come up with $200,000 in cash. They include not using any computer that has Internet access and not using the Internet to send e-mails or having any other computer-generated communication with any female, as well as reporting daily to the probation department in Exeter and refraining from illegal use of drugs and excessive alcohol.
As an addendum to his bail conditions, Frasier ordered Currier to stay at least 500 feet away from the alleged victim and to have no direct or indirect contact with her.
According to Hampton Falls police Chief Robbie Dirsa, since the case broke, his department and Troop A of the New Hampshire State Police have spent weeks investigating numerous complaints coming in on Currier. Dirsa expects a press conference to be held soon when the extent of the charges police may bring are revealed.
"According to our investigation, Currier invites women to his place for dinner after meeting them on the Internet, then gives them a beverage to drink laced with something that incapacitates them, but we don't know what that substance is at this time," Dirsa said when first interviewed on the case.
In Hampton Falls, Lt. Thomas Boynton is heading up the investigations and Detective Richard Kelly of Troop A is doing the same for the New Hampshire State Police.
"Lt. Boynton has been working on the case for three weeks straight," Dirsa said yesterday. "For the State Police, Detective Kelly and other troopers have also been investigating the case. We've been trying to interview everyone who has called in relation to this case. With the number of calls we and the State Police have been getting, I would expect there will be more charges brought. This isn't over. There's more here."
Hutchins will be held without bail until his probable cause hearing on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Hampton District court, at which time the court will determine if there is probable cause to transfer the case to Rockingham County Superior Court and the grand jury for possible indictment and trial on the felony charges. In New Hampshire, felony cases are not handled on district court level.
Currier's case was transferred to Superior Court last Wednesday.
However, Currier also has misdemeanor charges pending at Hampton District Court, where he stands accused of criminally threatening and stealing $165 from a woman at his Marsh Lane home on Aug. 7. Dirsa said Currier threatened the woman when she refused to drink the beverage he offered.
"He told her if she didn't drink it, he'd shoot her with a gun," Dirsa said.
A trial on these charges is scheduled for October, according to court documents.
Currier is represented by attorney Oliver Sakellarios, who has said his client is innocent. Dirsa said police have not interviewed Currier personally.
Hampton Falls and State Police issued a warrant for Hutchins' arrest on Aug. 29 citing the charges, his description, car and the belief he may be in the company of his Salisbury girlfriend. Hutchins turned himself in the next day through his attorney.
Dirsa urges anyone who has had contact or who has concerns about Currier or Hutchins to contact Hampton Falls police at 603-926-4619 or New Hampshire State Police Troop A at 603-679-3333.
