Alleged Internet Predator Arrested In Tewksbury On Child Rape Charges

A Tewksbury man has been arraigned on multiple charges, after he allegedly blackmailed a Medford teen into having sex with him by threatening to publish nude photos of her on the internet.

Thomas Hutchinson, 19, was arraigned in Somerville District Court on July 8 on charges including child rape, child enticement, extortion by threat of injury, threats, and posing a child in a state of nudity.

According to information provided in a press release by District Attorney Gerald Leone, Somerville District Court Judge Neil Walker ordered Hutchinson held on $2,500 cash bail with the conditions that the defendant remain under house arrest and on GPS monitoring if he posts bail, have no contact with the victim, victim’s family, or any witnesses, no use of computers or the Internet, have no unsupervised contact with children, and he can't leave the state.

His next court date is August 23 for a probable cause hearing.

“This is an outrageous form of cyber stratagem by a predator using the anonymity of the internet to deceptively lure and entice young female victims with the intent to rape them.  This is made all the more troubling by the fact that there exists evidence that leads us to believe that there may be additional victims of his predatory intentions who have not yet come forward,” said Leone.  “We continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed by offenders that target vulnerable children through the internet, as we allege is the case here.”

Leone any encouraged any other victims who may have had similar interaction with Hutchinson, to contact their local police department or the District Attorney's Office.

Leone's office provided the following narrative of the events leading to Hutchinson's arrest:

"According to authorities, in early 2011, a 15-year-old girl was online, using a website called MyYearbook.com, where she met an individual who called herself “Brittney”. “Brittney” offered to connect the victim with someone involved in modeling.  The victim agreed and, shortly thereafter, an individual using the screen name Sexybeast5655@aim.com contacted her and claimed to be in the modeling industry.  This individual asked how old the victim was and the victim replied that she was 15.  At first, the individual asked the victim to send him pictures of her in a bathing suit and clothes and then eventually asked the victim to send him naked pictures and videos.  When the victim complied, he then threatened to post those images and videos if she didn’t have sex with his “friend.”  He additionally threatened to rape her if she refused to meet his friend in person or told police.  The friend, “Tommy,” who used the screen name Tommy364587@aim.com, also contacted the victim online.

"It is alleged that the defendant then arranged to meet with the victim, threatening her again if she did not complete a sex act.  On February 28, the defendant is alleged to have contacted the victim, pretending to be “Tommy” and told her that he was going to come see her that day.  The defendant is alleged to have driven to the victim’s street and, upon arrival, told the victim to get in his car, where he is alleged to have forced her to perform a sex act.

"Authorities were able to identify the defendant as the individual using all three online identities: “Sexybeast,” “Brittney,” and “Tommy”."

Leone said that Medford Police executed search warrants at Hutchinson's Tewksbury home and his car. When police searched his computer, they found saved photos and videos, and chats with "dozens of females, many of whom appeared to be under the age of 18."  The computer also contained numerous images and videos of child pornography, according to Leone.

The investigation into the identities and exact ages of the girls is ongoing, he said.