Man Charged With Soliciting Boys

A Westwood, Mass. man was arraigned Thursday for allegedly offering teenage boys in Harvard Square drugs and money to appear naked in photographs and movies.

Police from across the country have contacted local authorities to determine if there may be a connection between this case and the killings of dozens of other teenagers who may also have been lured into making pornographic films.

While Cambridge police have taken credit for the arrest, a Harvard police officer, David Rourke, provided key information which helped authorities crack the case. Rourke was contacted Sunday by a local 17-year-old who said he had been approached by the Westwood man, Jack Warner.

Warner, 47, pleaded innocent in Cambridge District Court Thursday to two counts of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity. Judge Arthur Sherman sent him to Bridge-water (Mass.) State Hospital for 20 days of tests.

Police said Warner would lurk around Harvard Square and befriend boys about 14 or 15 years old, many of whom were homeless. Warner allegedly solicited older teenagers, ages 17 or 18, to help him meet younger teens.

When he offered the boys money or drugs to pose nude, Warner would hand them business cards saying "Warner Entertainment Network" and including an imitation of the Warner Bros. trademark, Cambridge police Detective Frank Pasquarello said.

Most of the youths were recruited with promises of legitimate movie careers. Then, the suspect got them drunk or drugged them to appear before the cameras, police said. "It was really unbelievable," Pasquarello said.

Cambridge police said they got more than 50 calls Thursday from law enforcement officials as far away as Florida about Warner, who changed his name from Ronald Pasquarlino.

Authorities in Boston, Westwood, Brockton, Wayland and Hampton Beach, N.H., are also interested in Warner, police said.

After tracing Warner's license plate and following him to other locations in the city, Harvard officer Rourke handed the investigation over to Cambridge detectives.

Warner, who lives with his parents in Westwood, was arrested in Boston by Cambridge police Wednesday.

"Officer Rourke helped greatly in this investigation," Harvard Lt. Lawrence J Murphy said yesterday. "This could have fallen by the way-side but he made sure it didn't."

An undercover detective from the Cambridge police department called Warner and pretended to want to hire minors as prostitutes.

"Mr. Warner made statements to the detective about employing minors, taking pictures of them naked and the sexual overtones of that," Pasquarello said.

Inside Warner's rental car, investigators found a video camera and two cassettes, police said. Detectives were awaiting court approval to view the videos. Cambridge police Sgt. Joseph McSweeney said Warner had 33 aliases.

In addition to phone calls, McSweeney said police have received teletypes from authorities in other states who said they had similar cases.

The situations involved "someone being selected for the [pornographic] movies, and as a result they died," he said. "They were usually homeless youths."

The Middlesex County Child Abuse Unit is investigating the case, said Jill Reilly, spokesperson for District Attorney Thomas Reilly.

This report was compiled with Associated Press wire dispatches.

When he offered the boys money or drugs to pose nude, Warner would hand them business cards saying "Warner Entertainment Network" and including an imitation of the Warner Bros. trademark, Cambridge police Detective Frank Pasquarello said.

Most of the youths were recruited with promises of legitimate movie careers. Then, the suspect got them drunk or drugged them to appear before the cameras, police said. "It was really unbelievable," Pasquarello said.

Cambridge police said they got more than 50 calls Thursday from law enforcement officials as far away as Florida about Warner, who changed his name from Ronald Pasquarlino.

Authorities in Boston, Westwood, Brockton, Wayland and Hampton Beach, N.H., are also interested in Warner, police said.

After tracing Warner's license plate and following him to other locations in the city, Harvard officer Rourke handed the investigation over to Cambridge detectives.

Warner, who lives with his parents in Westwood, was arrested in Boston by Cambridge police Wednesday.

"Officer Rourke helped greatly in this investigation," Harvard Lt. Lawrence J Murphy said yesterday. "This could have fallen by the way-side but he made sure it didn't."

An undercover detective from the Cambridge police department called Warner and pretended to want to hire minors as prostitutes.

"Mr. Warner made statements to the detective about employing minors, taking pictures of them naked and the sexual overtones of that," Pasquarello said.

Inside Warner's rental car, investigators found a video camera and two cassettes, police said. Detectives were awaiting court approval to view the videos. Cambridge police Sgt. Joseph McSweeney said Warner had 33 aliases.

In addition to phone calls, McSweeney said police have received teletypes from authorities in other states who said they had similar cases.

The situations involved "someone being selected for the [pornographic] movies, and as a result they died," he said. "They were usually homeless youths."

The Middlesex County Child Abuse Unit is investigating the case, said Jill Reilly, spokesperson for District Attorney Thomas Reilly.

This report was compiled with Associated Press wire dispatches.