Ansonia man arrested on child risk charge
A Connecticut man was arrested on a child endangerment charge for allegedly asking a 13-yearold boy to send him shirtless photos and film a video for him that was sexual in nature, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Michael Bernaud, 27, of Ansonia, recently turned himself in at the state police Troop L barracks in Litchfield after learning that there was a warrant for his arrest, according to Connecticut State Police. He faces one felony count of risk of injury to a minor.
Bernaud was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 1 in Waterbury Superior Court.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, state police in March began investigating Bernaud after learning of sporadic conversations he allegedly had with a 13-year-old between December and March. The victim told authorities he first saw Bernaud in April 2022 when his parents took him to the grand re-opening of a business in Orange, the affidavit said.
The teen would later join an Instagram group in December 2023 that was mostly made up of other teenagers who were fans of a certain restaurant and arcade, the affidavit said. The boy told police he began communicating with Bernaud in a direct message chat that was tied to the group and would later have one-onone conversations through text messages or direct messages on social media.
State police reviewed screenshots of the correspondences as part of the investigation and found one instance where the teen sent a photo of himself with no shirt on to Bernaud, according to the warrant affidavit.
During one of these conversations, Bernaud allegedly told the boy “You’re actually pretty cute with no shirt on,” the warrant affidavit says. In the same conversation, Bernaud allegedly asked the boy to perform a sex act on camera and send it to him, state police wrote.
When the teen declined and told him he would not make “porn” for him, Bernaud allegedly insisted that it would not be considered pornography if he kept his clothes on, the warrant affidavit says.
During another conversation, the teen sent a photo of his dog and Bernaud responded by saying “At least he’s shirtless,” according to the warrant affidavit. He would later tell the boy “Bro, just send me something sexy,” the warrant affidavit says.
When the teen sent a photo of a picture hanging on a wall, Bernaud allegedly told him, “Either send me something sexy or stop sending me pictures,” according to the warrant affidavit.
The warrant affidavit includes further alleged correspondences, including in which the teen expressed concern about safety.
State police said the teen’s parents discovered the inappropriate correspondences when the teen asked them if Bernaud could give him a ride to Rhode Island, the warrant affidavit says. The boy wanted to attend a fan meet-up that would take place but told Bernaud it was two hours away and that he would not be able to go.
Bernaud offered to drive the teen, who said he would first need to check with his parents, the warrant affidavit says. It was then that the parents discovered “there was an issue at hand,” state police wrote.