Connecticut man charged with sexually abusing girls during park recreation program

A man accused of sexual abuse and child endangerment is accused of inappropriately touching girls while babysitting or supervising them at after-school and summer camps in Connecticut.

Anthony Mastrangelo, 25, of Bethany, was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of first-degree sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact with a victim under 16. He also faces three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and endangering a minor, according to Connecticut State Police.

These charges follow a May 24 arrest on charges of first- and fourth-degree sexual assault and endangering minors, court records show.

State police began investigating Mastrangelo in December 2022 after receiving a fax from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families indicating that a child had come forward and accused him of inappropriately touching her during a Bethany Parks and Recreation Department program, arrest warrant affidavits state. Mastrangelo was identified as an intern in the DCF fax, state police wrote.

According to the affidavits, several girls came forward and made allegations against Mastrangelo after one of them confided in her parents. DCF got involved after being notified of the allegations by Bethany Public Schools officials, who learned of the allegations from the parents of the first victim.

The charges stemming from his May arrest are based on allegations made by a girl who was the first alleged victim to come forward, according to affidavits. On Tuesday, he was accused of sexually abusing four more girls, state police wrote.

During an investigation, state police found that several girls Mastrangelo had mentored during Bethany Parks and Recreation’s after-school and summer camp programs said he had touched them several times and made them feel uncomfortable, arrest warrant affidavits say.

One girl had “outbursts” in December 2022 and became emotional when she told her parents she no longer wanted to participate in the parks and recreation programs, the affidavits say. When investigators questioned the minor, she told them that Mastrangelo frequently sat girls on his lap during the programs. She described three to four instances in which he did this to her and allegedly touched her, the affidavits say.

The girl said she would usually break off contact by going to the bathroom “to have an excuse to get off his lap,” state police wrote.

Another girl described two incidents in which Mastrangelo picked her up and placed her on his lap, during which he allegedly touched her inappropriately, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

One of the other victims accused Mastrangelo of touching her during a summer program at a lake in Bethany, the affidavits say. The girl told her parents he initially put his hand on her as if he was helping her swim before moving and making her feel uncomfortable, the affidavits say.

The girl told investigators that Mastrangelo touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions while in the lake and while he had her sit on his lap at various points, according to the affidavits. She said the inappropriate contact began in first and second grade and escalated in third grade. She claimed the touching only stopped when she moved away.

According to the affidavits, the girls began talking to each other about what had happened and decided to share the allegations with an adult. They all said Mastrangelo never instructed them not to tell anyone about the inappropriate contact.

In May, state police began investigating allegations related to a fifth victim after a mother reported her daughter accused Mastrangelo of touching her while he was caring for her and a sibling, arrest warrant affidavits say.

The girl said one of the incidents occurred earlier this month when Mastrangelo asked her if she wanted to scratch her back, state police wrote. While he was doing so, the girl claims, he touched her inappropriately.

The girl later told her mother, “I have to tell you something,” before describing the incident and a previous situation involving similar allegations, the affidavits say. She could not remember when the first incident occurred.

The mother could not say exactly when it allegedly happened, as she said she had been asking Mastrangelo to watch her children since 2021 after meeting him through the Bethany Parks and Recreation program.

During the investigation, a lawyer representing Mastrangelo told police that he did not want to be questioned about the allegations.

State police interviewed several parks and recreation consultants during the investigation, but none of them could confirm the allegations, the affidavits say. His colleagues described him to investigators as a “great” and “amazing guy.”

An aide said he saw Mastrangelo sit children on him, although he described it as on his lap rather than his knee, the affidavits said. The aide said he never saw anything inappropriate.

A spokesman for the Bethany Parks and Recreation Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Mastrangelo was free on $100,000 bail from his May arrest when he was arraigned Tuesday. He was released on $500,000 bail on the new charges and is scheduled to be arraigned in New Haven Superior Court on July 12.