Man Living In Bus In Middletown Parking Lot Charged With Sexual Crimes

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A man who told police he has lived in a renovated bus in a Middletown parking lot for the past 14 years was arrested Sunday on a warrant charging him with multiple sex crimes against a teenage victim in Enfield and several other towns.

Scott Predom, 59, was charged with risk of injury to a child, three counts of illegal sexual contact with a victim under age 16, three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, enticing a minor under 18 via computer and second-degree failure to appear. Bond was originally set at $500,000, but judicial records indicate a Hartford Superior Court judge upped the amount to $750,500 at his arraignment.

A 15-page affidavit by Enfield Det. Mike Bailey supporting Predom's arrest is so heavily redacted, it is impossible to determine the gender of the victim.

On Feb. 28, the mother of a victim believed to be between 13 and 18 years old called Enfield police after discovering a string of text messages between her child and Predom, in which Predom asked the victim to send pictures. The string contained some pornographic images, and the mother texted Predom and told him to never contact her child again, according to the affidavit.

She told police she took pictures of the string to document it, then erased the messages and pictures and blocked Predom, according to the affidavit.

The victim said they had been touched by Predom in "private parts" several weeks earlier during a trip to McDonald's. The circumstances were corroborated by a Jan. 14 arrest report in which Predom had been trespassed from the McDonald's at Brookside Plaza "for causing a disturbance." Police body camera footage showed Predom in the driver's seat of a silver SUV, accompanied by a young passenger, according to the affidavit.

The mother told police Predom was homeless and living in a renovated bus in Middletown. She also provided his cell phone number, and two Enfield detectives traveled to that city in an attempt to locate him. The bus was discovered in a parking lot adjacent to Palmer Field on Bernie O'Rourke Drive, and Predom allowed the officers inside, according to the affidavit.

Predom told police "he thought he was having a consensual relationship" with the victim. He admitted touching the victim on several occasions, then taking the child out for food afterward each time, according to the affidavit.

A forensic examination of the victim's cell phone revealed 394 incoming interactions with "Uncle Scott," as well as 507 outgoing interactions. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Predom's cell phone and found numerous images of a person believed to be between ages 13 and 18 "In various stages of undress, typically in underwear or bathing suits," according to the affidavit.

The victim told a school counselor they had been touched by Predom since 2023, including one instance at a cemetery. Bailey concluded the investigation revealed similar crimes "likely occurred in other jurisdictions, specifically Middletown, East Hampton and Willington," according to the affidavit.

Predom, who is being held at the Hartford Correctional Center, is due back in court May 9.