A 24-year-old Quincy woman is being held in a West Virginia jail on a criminal complaint that accuses her of posing as a teenage boy and then sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl from that state, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of West Virginia said today.

A mugshot of Carissa Hads

Carissa Hads posed as 17-year-old Puryear Wilson, who does not exist, according to a sworn statement by West Virginia State Police Sergeant Robert Talkington, a member of the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The victim, who lived in Linn, W. Va., met “Wilson’’ on a social networking website in October 2010 and became involved in a long-distance Internet romance, Talkington said in an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint.


“Wilson’’ told the victim and her mother that “he’’ was living with an aunt in Quincy, Melanie Lodi, and reported having another aunt named Carissa Hads.

“Wilson’’ allegedly sent the victim two cellphones and a Kindle tablet computer while they were in contact. The victim said “Wilson’’ paid for the cellphone bill each month. The victim said she used the phones to send nude pictures of herself to “Wilson.’’

In December, the victim’s mother said, she drove her daughter and two other 15-year-old girls to Coraopolis, Pa. There the mother paid for two hotel rooms, one for “Wilson’’ and the other for the girls and herself.

During the trip, the victim told police, “Wilson’’ sexually assaulted her.

“Wilson’’ also stayed with the victim at her home in West Virginia for several days in late February. The victim told police they had sexual intercourse during that time, though “he’’ did not get undressed. She said “he’’ also wore a back brace that covered “his’’ chest.

In March, “Wilson’’ asked the victim’s mother to return several items “he’’ bought for her daughter by mailing them to an address in Quincy. Two packages were intercepted by authorities on their way to Quincy. They contained clothing, toys, notebooks, a cellphone, and a Kindle tablet computer.


Talkington reported that he found no record of “James Puryear Wilson’’ or “Puryear Wilson.’’ He said Carissa Hads lived at the address the victim’s family believed “Wilson’’ lived at, and a credit card registered to Hads had been used to purchase plane tickets to Pennsylvania and West Virginia the same months that “Wilson’’ visited.

The victim’s mother said “Wilson’’ planned another trip to Pennsylvania to see her daughter in late May.

Hads was taken into custody at a Pennsylvania airport on May 24 and is being held as a federal inmate in West Virginia.

The case will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether to hand up an indictment against Hads, said Chris Zumpetta-Parr, a paralegal specialist in the US attorney’s office. She could not say when that would take place.