NEW SHARON – A local man was arrested earlier this week, following a Franklin County Sheriff’s Office investigation that began with a Department of Health and Human Services referral.
Christopher Hills-Pettitt, 40 of New Sharon, was arrested Wednesday on one charge of unlawful sexual contact, a Class C felony. The charge relates to accusations of inappropriate sexual contact against two juveniles, both younger than 14 years of age.
According to court documents, a family member related to both juveniles learned of the alleged incidents of sexual contact and called DHHS, who in turn contacted the FCSO on Feb. 19. Lt. David St. Laurent met with the family member on Feb. 20, learning that both juveniles had made the disclosure to the family member during the juveniles’ school break.
Children’s Advocacy Center interviews were conducted with three juveniles on Feb. 25. One juvenile reported “several cases” of touching, which she described as being in a sexual manner, with the most recent incident occurring two or three weeks previous. The second juvenile reported a single incident two weeks previous. The third juvenile made no disclosures regarding inappropriate behavior.
On Feb. 26, St. Laurent interviewed Hill-Pettitt. The New Sharon man denied touching either juvenile in a sexual manner, but said that he could have accidentally touched the juveniles in a non-sexual manner.
St. Laurent arrested Hill-Pettitt on the charge of unlawful sexual contact and took him to Franklin County Detention Center. Hill-Pettitt was held without bail, pending an initial appearance in court Friday.
