East Bridgewater

Wellesley Man Arrested in Child Sex Trafficking Sting, Police Say

A detective began investigating inappropriate messages sent to a minor and found that Nicholas Cristoforo had allegedly extorted explicit material from two children through threats and promises of money and drugs

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A man was arrested on child sex trafficking charges Wednesday, police said, after investigators discovered he'd allegedly extorted sexual material from two children from East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Nicholas Cristoforo, a 26-year-old from Wellesley, was arrested Wednesday night by East Bridgewater police on three counts of trafficking a children, three counts of enticing a child for trafficking and a charge each of distributing a picture of a naked child and posing a child in a sex act, police said.

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A detective began investigating inappropriate messages sent to a minor on Tuesday and found that Cristoforo had been talking to two children -- their ages weren't given -- to extort explicit material from them through threats and promises of money and drugs, police said.

The detective reached out to Cristoforo, posing as a friend of the children, and agreed to meet up to exchange sex for marijuana, according to police.

The meeting was a sting, and Cristoforo was arrested by officers with the assistance of a regional crime task force when he messaged the detective he'd arrived and investigators found his phone had been used to arrange the meeting, police said.

Cristoforo was arraigned in Brockton District Court and ordered held for up to 90 days on $30,000 bail, while his bail in another case was revoked, police said. He'll be required to wear a GPS monitor, stay out of East Bridgewater and not speak with any children if he makes bail.

It wasn't immediately clear if Cristoforo had an attorney who could speak to the charges.

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