US indicts ex-selectman in sex sting

SOUTHBOROUGH

A former Southborough selectman has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from an Internet sex sting.

William Christensen, 60, is alleged to have traveled to Rhode Island to have sex with a person he met in an on-line chat room who said she was a 15-year-old Providence girl. In fact, the girl was a detective.

Christensen was charged with traveling across state lines to entice a minor in sexual conduct and using interstate commerce to entice a minor, according to Rhode Island US Attorney Robert Clark Corrente.

The retired software engineer faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge.

Rhode Island state police arrested Christensen last May - one week after he lost his bid for re-election - when he drove his red Subaru Forester into the Evergreen Apartments parking lot in East Providence.

Christensen, a married man with two grown sons, was carrying condoms, police said.

In December, Christensen avoided jail time in a similar case from Plymouth County.

He received five years probation after pleading guilty to soliciting sex on the Internet from a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.

Christensen’s indictment information was included in a press release launching Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice program that focuses on prosecution and awareness of Internet-based crimes against children.

- Jennifer Rosinski