"Casual Encounter" Gone Bad

APRIL 6--Meet Richard Zeh.

The Connecticut man, 29, yesterday was perusing Craigslist when he came across a personal ad purportedly placed by a 'West Hartford soccer mom' who was 'looking for group sex!' As seen at left, the 'looking for lust' solicitation noted that the woman was 'free until 11:00,' and that she sought to 'please as many as I can before work!'

The classified--which was phony, of course--directed men to a West Hartford address. When a dozen would-be suitors arrived at the home, residents told the men that they had not placed the Craigslist ad and directed them to leave. However, when Zeh arrived, he mistakenly went to a neighboring home, and let himself in. Zeh was confronted there by an 18-year-old woman who told him she knew nothing about the Craigslist ad.

After repeated requests from the teenager, Zeh left the home. He then went to the address listed in the Craigslist ad, and was, like the other men, quickly turned away. Amazingly, Zeh, a personal trainer, then returned to the teen's house, again let himself in, and 'made obscene comments to the victim and grabbed her,' according to a West Hartford Police Department incident summary. Zeh was arrested yesterday on a variety of criminal charges, including burglary, sexual assault, and trespassing. Police are investigating who placed the fake Craigslist ad. (2 pages)