While sleeping over at her aunt’s house in Concord, a 10-year-old girl and her 9-year-old cousin were sexually assaulted by the aunt’s boyfriend, who ordered them to take their clothes off for photos and touched them, police said in court documents. 

On Wednesday, eight months after the incident occurred, Jonathan Shaw, 28, was arrested and charged with several felony sexual assault charges on victims under the age of 13, police said. The girls came forward with their allegations earlier this month, which prompted the investigation into Shaw. 

While shopping with her mother, one of the juveniles told her that during a sleepover in October, the girls were watching television in the living room around midnight after their aunt had gone to bed when Shaw ordered them to take their clothes off and pose for photos. He then told them to close their eyes while he performed a sexual act on them. Afterward, he asked the 10-year-old girl to “forgive him” and remain “friends,” police said in court documents. 

On July 6, the girl’s parents went to the Concord Police Department to report the assault. A few days later, the girls were interviewed at the Merrimack County Child Advocacy Center where they recounted what happened and named Shaw as their abuser, police said. Officers then conducted numerous interviews, executed several search warrants and collected evidence at the Loudon Road apartment that corroborated the victim’s statements and established probable cause to arrest Shaw. 

During the investigation, police recorded a phone call between Shaw and his girlfriend, one of the victim’s mothers, where he admitted to the assaults saying, “I’m a very sick person. Whatever they said, just believe it.” 

When asked directly if he did, police said he responded by saying, “Why would they make anything up?”

Police said he then broke down, apologized to his girlfriend and said, “I did it. I don’t know why, because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to hurt them. I’m not attracted to them. I’m not interested in them. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Shortly after the call ended police went to arrest Shaw, who was standing outside the apartment waiting for them. He admitted to police that he had sexually assaulted the minors and recounted the details. He was charged with two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, felonious sexual assault with a victim under 13 and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, also felonies. 

He later told police that he did not plan the assaults, he was acting on impulses and urges and he had previously been charged with sociopathic tendencies, according to court documents. 

Shaw is being held without bail at the Merrimack County House of Corrections after waiving his right to an arraignment on Thursday. He was ordered to have no contact with his girlfriend or the victims. The investigation remains active and ongoing. 

]]>