Ex-selectman facing new solicitation charges

PLYMOUTH -- A former Southborough selectman has been arrested for the second time in a week on allegations that he solicited sex from a police detective he thought was an underage girl.

William J. Christensen, 59, pleaded not guilty yesterday to new charges he tried to arrange a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old who actually was an officer.

Christensen, voted off the Southborough Board of Selectmen recently after 12 years in office, was out on bail after being arrested last Wednesday in East Providence, R.I., where he allegedly traveled to meet a detective he believed was a 15-year-old girl.

Police said he had allegedly arranged two encounters last week. Christensen allegedly planned to meet the 13-year-old in Hanover on Friday, but it never happened because of his arrest Wednesday.

Marshfield Police Detective Steven Marcolini, whose office ran the Massachusetts sting, said his charges remained despite the missed meeting.

Christensen was arrested at his Southborough home early yesterday. He was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on charges of attempting to entice a child, and attempting to disseminate harmful matter to a child. He allegedly sent sexually graphic photos to the undercover officer.

He was being held on $4,000 bail. He had posted $1,000 bail from the East Providence arrest, charged with one count of indecent solicitation.

Christensen's attorney, Jeffrey Pine, said, ``Without evaluating the police statement and evidence, there's very little I can say about the substance of the charges."