Conn. man charged in child sex case took own life

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Vermont records say a Connecticut man found dead after being charged in an alleged child sex slave case committed suicide by carbon monoxide.

The New Haven Register reports Friday (http://bit.ly/14DxILl) a death certificate it obtained from Vermont authorities said 39-year-old Frank Meyer of West Haven died from burning charcoal in a confined space. He was found dead Tuesday in Newfane, Vt.

Meyer and 42-year-old Brett Bartolotta of Cavendish, Vt., pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual assault and slave trafficking.

Authorities say the men bribed a boy to perform sex acts in Vermont for several years beginning when the boy was 12. The alleged victim is now 25.

Meyer, a West Haven 911 dispatcher, was suspended. West Haven officials say there's no indication he engaged in improprieties there, but police executed a sealed search warrant on his property.

___

Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com