Three men have been arrested in a joint operation aimed at combatting the sexual exploitation of children in Meriden.
The police department said they worked collaboratively with the FBI to take action against those that appeared to be looking to engage in sexual activity with children.
John Magaldi, 61, was arrested on charges including criminal attempt at risk of injury by sexual contact with a victim under 16, criminal attempt at sexual assault, criminal attempt at commercial sexual abuse of a minor and interfering with police.
He is being held on a $350,000 bond. Magaldi is the chief of Rheumatology at Hartford HealthCare, according to their website.
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The healthcare system issued the following statement about his arrest:
“We are troubled to learn of the arrest and we take these allegations seriously. With safety as a core value, we have placed Dr. John Magaldi on administrative leave, and we are working to gather information from law enforcement authorities so that we can address this situation appropriately."
Wilson Suarez, 28, was arrested on charges including criminal attempt at risk of injury by sexual contact with a victim under 16, criminal attempt at sexual assault and criminal attempt at commercial sex abuse of a minor.
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A third person was also arrested during the operation. Francisco Carrero, 51, faces charges including criminal attempt at risk of injury by sexual contact with a victim under 16, criminal attempt at sexual assault, criminal attempt at commercial sexual abuse of a minor and possession of narcotics.
Suarez and Carrero are each being held on $250,000 bonds. All three men are scheduled to appear in court on March 22.
