By Shannon Hardy

During the summer of 1993 a nine year-old girl allegedly fell victim to alleged sexual predator, Christopher Elwell. Elwell, 33, of Woburn first met the victim volunteering as a junior staff member for the Boys and Girls Club in

Woburn. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the Woburn Police Department, and current management of the club launched an investigation into the allegations by late 2012.

Alleged harassment began with, “slight touching and pats on the rear,” reports an anonymous family member. Throughout the investigation, authorities allegedly learned that by the fall of 1999 the defendant’s abuse escalated into private meetings with the victim followed by conversations about sex. Authorities allege communication began extending outside of the club into Elwell’s home and frequently about sexual matters. The anonymous family member went on to say, “by the age of 12, starting out as molestation and turning into full-blown out sexual assault. (Many of the) alleged sexual assaults occurred between the ages of 13 through 16.”
Subsequently, Elwell has been indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury with child abuse allegations. Charges that the defendant allegedly instructed the victim to engage in a sexual relationship with himself date back to 2000 and continue into the fall of 2003. During this time Ewell supposedly showed the victim pornography, nude videos of himself, and encouraged her to photograph herself nude. The defendant was indicted on charges of three counts of rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen, dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, and posing a child in a state of nudity. The arraignment date has not been set.
However, an anonymous family member also revealed that the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club were aware of alleged “incidents, signs, and accusations of sexual assault,” against Christopher Elwell prior to 2012. Executive Director and recently married wife of Elwell, Carla Bausoin, resigned from her position after sexual abuse allegations against Elwell were brought directly to the Board of Directors in 2012.
The case is currently under investigation by the Woburn Police Department and Assistant District Attorney Megan Williams of the District Attorney’s Child Protection Unit is the prosecutor assigned to the case. The Victim Witness Advocate is Joanne Szeto. The Child Interview Specialist is Alicia Compitello.
The public is encouraged to contact the Woburn Police Department at 781-933-1212 with information that they believe may be helpful to the investigation.