Sex offender found in truck in Salem with teenager

Sex offender found in truck in Salem with teenager
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_023013616.html?keyword=topstory

By James A. Kimblejkimble@eagletribune.com
SALEM — A registered sex offender was found with a 15-year-old Methuen, Mass., boy in a store parking lot at 2:48 a.m. yesterday, prompting an investigation in Massachusetts into child solicitation.
A Salem officer found Rodney A. Martineau, 42, of 61 Monadnock Ave. in Dracut, Mass., sitting in a Dodge pickup truck with the teen in Eastpointe Plaza.
Martineau and the boy were fully clothed and repeatedly denied anything physical happened between them.
Martineau's status as a registered sex offender and the unusual circumstances in which he was found weren't enough to warrant felony charges in New Hampshire. But Salem police say he could face a such charges in Massachusetts.
They have forwarded their findings to Methuen police, who have started their own investigation.
Martineau was arrested for interference with custody and loitering yesterday morning after police interviewed the boy and checked Martineau's background.
"Based on what we learned from the juvenile and his parents, we believe there was an active solicitation attempt on this child," Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten said. "All of it occurred in Methuen, but we have brought all the charges we could in our jurisdiction."
Methuen police Capt. Thomas Fram confirmed yesterday detectives are now looking into the matter.
Martineau served 27 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Authorities found him with a pornographic videotape in July 2001, according to a federal indictment.
He pleaded guilty to the offense and his probation expired in 2007, after 36 months.
But court documents indicate Martineau spent months resisting demands from federal probation officials that he undergo regular polygraph testing to ensure he was being truthful with them.
They were specifically worried whether Martineau would comply with the court's special conditions "related to refraining from child pornography on the Internet and having no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18 years," court documents say.
A concerned resident called police early yesterday about a vehicle parked behind Eastpointe Plaza at 130 Main St.
Salem police Officer Michael White found Martineau and the boy sitting inside a 2002 white Dodge Ram pickup truck with the engine running.
White ran a background check on Martineau and learned he was a registered sex offender in Massachusetts, according to a police affidavit. The officer then asked the boy to step out of the car and took him into protective custody after questioning him.
The boy admitted to police he snuck out of his Methuen home around 1 a.m. to meet Martineau. Martineau and the youth had been communicating through an instant messenger program for the last few weeks. They initially met where the boy works, police said. Martineau was a customer.
Martineau told the boy to lie about why he was with him, according to White.
Patten said the boy was surprised to find out how old Martineau was. Martineau allegedly told the teen he was 27, not 42.
White took the boy into custody so he could notify his parents. Martineau reported to police headquarters hours later to be charged with the misdemeanor and violation-level offenses, and was released on bail.
Patten credited the quick police response for preventing something more egregious from happening.
"It was very good work by the officers on the midnight shift," Patten said. "The officer knew something was up. They knew it didn't look good and something wasn't right."
The boy told police he got worried while driving around with Martineau.
"He started to become nervous and began to make sure to take notice of street signs and where he was in case something happened," White wrote in his report.
Yesterday, it remained unclear whether Martineau ever completed his court-ordered sex offender treatment. He had contested participating in group therapy and taking polygraph exams.
His lawyer at the time, John Swomley, wrote in court papers the polygraph exams violated his client's right against self-incrimination and privacy. In 2005, Martineau dropped out of group therapy chosen by probation officials and went to a private psychologist instead.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Feeley responded by arguing the choice wasn't Martinueau's.
"Martineau is no more entitled to select his own treatment regimen than he is entitled to judge his own risk to third parties," Feeley wrote.

Comment from Laurie: Is it me or are you sick of hearing about an offenders rights to victimize children?