DA appeals to potential victims of Tewksbury man

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Days after a Tewksbury man was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl, Middlesex prosecutors today appealed for anyone he allegedly victimized to come forward and contact authorities.

In a statement, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr. said the investigation that triggered the arrest of Thomas Hutchinson also led to the discovery of images of adolescent girls on his computer hard drives.

Thomas Hutchinson

“There exists evidence that leads us to believe that there may be additional victims of his predatory intentions who have not yet come forward,” Leone said in the statement.

Hutchinson, 19, pleaded not guilty in Somerville District Court to numerous charges, including child rape, child enticement, extortion by threat of injury, threats, and posing a child in a state of nudity, prosecutors said. Hutchinson pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on July 8. Bail was set at $2,500 cash.

His attorney, Vikas S. Dhar, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Prosecutors said Hutchinson used multiple Internet identities to convince a 15-year-old girl that he could help her land work as a model and then threatened her with violence if she did not perform a sex act on his fictitious friend.

Hutchinson allegedly posed as a female with the name of “Brittney’’ to contact the girl on the website, myYearbook.com. He also used the screen names of Sexybeast5655@aim.com and Tommy364587@aim.com to portray himself as separate individuals.

On Feb. 28, Hutchinson allegedly drove onto the street where the 15-year-old girl lives, forced her into his car and made her commit a sex act on him, prosecutors allege.

“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,’’ Leone said.

Following his arrest, Medford police, using warrants, searched Hutchinson’s home and car, prosecutors said. Police allegedly recovered photos and videos, transcripts of chats with “dozens of females, many of whom appeared to be under the age of 18’’ and “numerous” images and videos of alleged child pornography.

Leone urged anyone who has had contact with Hutchinson to contact Medford police Computer Crimes Unit at 781-396-0893.