Bridgeport man arrested in child sex abuse sting

Suspect offered cop a business deal, police say

sting operation conducted on March 8 that resulted in at least three other arrests. They were identified as 51-year-old Francisco Carrero, of Naugatuck; 28-year-old Wilson Suarez, of North Haven; and 61-year-old John Magaldi, of Litchfield.

The case against Magaldi, who was placed on leave after his arrest as Hartford HealthCare’s chief of rheumatology at its Bone and Joint Institute, was disposed of after he died by suicide days after he was charged.

Court records show Taylor remains held in lieu of $500,000 bail in the Meriden case. He is due to appear at state Superior Court in Meriden April 10.

To carry out the sting, law enforcement posted an ad on Skip the Games, an online platform used by sex workers to connect with clients, the police reports said. An undercover Connecticut police officer posed as a 15-year-old girl willing to engage in sex work, while an FBI agent posed as her aunt and handler, according to the reports.

The three initial men charged in the sting contacted a phone number purportedly for the girl, the reports said. They discussed with the girl’s handler what sexual acts they were interested in and then each was directed to the same hotel room in Meriden where they were arrested, the reports said.

But Taylor appears to have spoken with the undercover agents for some time before he was arrested last Thursday, the report said.

The police report from Taylor’s arrest said he contacted the undercover officer on March 8 and asked to meet. Taylor was interested after he was told the girl was 15 years old, the report said.

On March 11, Taylor contacted the undercover officer again and asked whether the girl was available, the report said. He also sent a picture of hundreds of dollars in cash, according to the report.

Taylor contacted the undercover investigators several times over the next few days and indicated he was looking for sex, the report said. At one point, police sent him an “age-regressed” photo of an officer posing as the 15-year-old.

The report said Taylor offered to pay $500 and sent police of photo of him exposing himself and a photo of his face.

During a conversation with undercover officers on March 21, Taylor said he wanted to pick up the teen and smoke and do “pills” with her, the report said.

He also claimed he wanted to pay her $500 a week to “be friends,” the report said.

Taylor “then began to question why the female doesn’t work by herself,” the report said. “The female stated that it was dangerous and she wanted protection. Gary stated that he could protect her and that he could ‘help her out.’ ”

He offered to help the supposed 15-year-old “make some bread,” and offered to “post” her in the New Haven area on Skip the Games, the report said.

“Gary stated that he would get a hotel room for the night so the female could work and stated that he would take money from her if she wanted to give him some,” the report said.

He also claimed to have a female “friend” from Waterbury who got girls from other Northeast states and set them up in hotel rooms after posting ads for them, the report said.

He agreed to meet with the girl at a public place and told her that “the cops better not be there,” according to the report.

The undercover officers directed Taylor to the parking lot of an American Steakhouse in Meriden, where he was taken into custody “without incident,” the report said.