Portland police have charged a 23-year-old Waterboro man with terrorizing a 10-year-old boy after he allegedly ordered the child to get into his truck Thursday afternoon on Ocean Avenue.

Police said the boy was walking home on Ocean when he saw a suspicious pickup truck. The passenger in the truck, later identified as Christopher Bennett, ordered the child into the vehicle, but the boy instead dropped his backpack and ran away crying.

A passing motorist saw the encounter and stopped the boy to find help. Someone else flagged down a police officer, who located the truck and stopped it on Forest Avenue.

In addition to Bennett, the driver of the truck, 26-year-old Nathan Desfosses of Shapleigh, was charged with operating after his license was suspended. Bennett also was charged with violating his bail conditions.

Both men have criminal records in Maine for felony convictions for violent crimes.

Bennett had been charged with assault and assaulting a police officer. Desfosses has been charged in the past with eluding an officer, operating under the influence, aggravated assault, domestic violence and other crimes, according to his criminal history.


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