Man Faces Computer Charge After Online Chat With Merrimack Cop

MERRIMACK, NH — An elderly man in Concord was arrested on a felony charge earlier this month after being accused of having sexual conversations and casing out locations for a potential encounter with a boy who turned out to be a Merrimack police officer.

On March 10, an officer went to the dating website Doublelist.com and created an account in an "undercover capacity," pretending to be a 13-year-old boy, according to an affidavit. The officer saw an ad on the site requesting interaction with men between 18 and 45, with the ad saying, "the younger the better," the report said. The officer began interacting with the poster, "Richard," later identified as Richard Curtis, 67, of Garvins Falls Road in Concord, who asked if he was 18, the affidavit said. When the officer told Curtis he would be 14 soon, he replied that was "kinda young," but asked about his residency and other information, the report said.

"Richard said he was concerned that I may be 'the law,'" the officer wrote.

The two continued to chat online discussing sexual preferences, stats, and other things, and Curtis suggested they go fishing for the day, and asked if he could "get away for the day," the affidavit alleged.

Later, they continued to talk and Curtis informed the officer he had bought a burner phone so they could text, the affidavit said, with the officer describing the numerous conversations they had — including a request for a nude photo. Curtis suggested a potential meeting on March 17 or March 18, but later had to cancel due to a medical appointment and a coronavirus quarantine, the report noted.

On March 23, Curtis texted the officer and said he was at a Merrimack boat ramp and sent a picture, the report alleged. The officer asked another officer to go to the boat ramp to see if Curtis was there. The second officer accused Curtis of being there after running the plate on the pickup truck at the boat ramp which was connected to a family member.

"Richard later asked if I could meet him at this particular boat ramp when we did eventually meet, which I agreed," the officer wrote. "Richard later told me that during our first meet, nothing sexual would happen, but stated he wanted to see how the first meeting does and see what happens from there."

The officer told Curtis he was no longer interested in meeting and the conversation ended after that.

On April 6, the officer, joined by a Concord detective, paid a visit to Curtis at his home to speak about the interaction. The affidavit accused Curtis of confirming the activity including the sexual conversations, the request for a nude photo, his email address and messages, and the text messages. The officer noted in the affidavit that Curtis matched the photos sent to him via text message.

"Richard said this was a bad decision on his part," the officer noted.

A warrant was issued on April 7 and he was picked up two days later on a felony certain uses of computer services prohibited charge and released on personal recognizance. Curtis had a disposition hearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court South on April 15 and is due back in court for arraignment on June 3.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Merrimack Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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