Crime & Safety

Police: Man, 73, Meets Somers Teen Over Internet, Has Sexual Contact

A 73-year-old chemistry professor at Western Connecticut State University in Connecticut is facing criminal charges after communicating over the Internet with a 15-year-old Somers resident and engaging in sexual contact with that teen, troopers said.

Paul S. Hines, a Danbury resident, was arrested on Oct. 28 and charged with third-degree criminal sexual act, a felony; and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Investigation revealed that Hines, after communicating online, met the 15-year-old at the teen's Somers home where he engaged in sexual contact, police said. Police did not identify the teen's gender.

Hines was arraigned in the Somers Town Court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail without bail.

Hines has been a chemistry professor at Western Connecticut State University since 1968. He also has been a coordinator at the Dorothy Day Shelter on Spring Street in Danbury since 1982, according to a request for volunteers published in 2004. 

"We're concerned," WCSU Spokesperson Paul Steinmetz told Patch.

The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Danbury Patch editor Mark Langlois contributed to this report.


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