Nurse practitioner charged with recruiting sex slaves, including toddler | WTNH.com Connecticut

Nurse practitioner charged with recruiting sex slaves, including toddler | WTNH.com Connecticut: Nurse practitioner charged with recruiting sex slaves, including toddler

Nurse practitioner charged with recruiting sex slaves, including toddler

VERNON, Conn. (WTNH) — Vernon police arrested a nurse practitioner who they say intended to sexually assault an 18-month-old girl.

Late last month police arrested Jay T. Mohler-Avery, and his assistant, Candace Merriam.

A mother of four was a patient at Connecticut Family Care on the 3rd floor of the Vernon Professional Building. She says Mohler-Avery, the nurse practitioner there, made her get the police involved.

"Vernon Police began this investigation during mid-October when a patient of Mohler-Avery's came to police to report that he had tried to recruit her and her four young children for sex," said Det. James Grady, Vernon Police Department.

Before and after the mom went to Vernon police, she ran her own investigation, secretly recording Mohler-Avery. Court documents just unsealed say those recordings capture Mohler-Avery explaining he wanted to take the virginity of her daughters. The oldest is nine, the youngest just 18 months.

"During the course of the investigation, Mohler-Avery sought to arrange for his adult patient/victim to become his 'sex slave' and also have her 18 month old child participate in the sex acts," Det. Grady said.

The mother told police she did have sex with Mohler-Avery to make him think she was interested in his offers, while she kept building her idea of a case against him. She told police the plan was for her and her children to move to a compound in Maine with Mohler-Avery and be his sex slaves. Police set up a sting when Mohler-Avery got his assistant, Candace Merriam, to receive the 18-month-old.

"On the night of his arrest, Mohler-Avery arranged for the adult victim and 18 month old child victim to be picked up in Vernon by Merriam for the purposes of having sex with the baby," Det. Grady said. "When Merriam arrived in Vernon, she was instead met by awaiting Vernon Police Detectives, who arrested her without incident."

Mohler-Avery was also arrested without incident at his Hartford home. He never actually had any contact with those children, so the charges against him are attempted sex assault and conspiracy to commit sex assault.

Mohler-Avery is also being investigated for Medicaid fraud.