Convicted Sex Offender Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Boy

A convicted sex offender is being held in jail on $200,000 cash bail after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy who police say is the son of a family friend.

Clyde Earl Shatney, 51, of 42 Bean Road, was charged Friday with four counts of felonious sexual assault and assault on a minor. Shatney has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1983.

Police say they were called to Woodbine Lane in Merrimack just after 4 p.m. on Friday for a report of a distraught 13-year-old boy who had requested the help of the homeowner there.

Police learned the boy had been sexually assaulted at a home on Bean Road, where Shatney, a registered sex offender is known to live.

Police say they learned in speaking with the boy that he and his 10-year-old brother had been dropped off at Shatney's earlier in the day and that Shatney is believed to be a family friend of their mother. Police rushed to Bean Road to check the welfare of the 10-year-old but he had already been picked up by his mother, police said.

Merrimack Police Capt. Mike Dudash said the 10-year-old brother was not at the home at the time of the alleged assault.

Police secured Shatney's home as the scene of the crime and detectives returned later in the evening with a search warrant. After hours of investigation and interviews, Shatney was arrested and charged. He was arraigned in Merrimack's district court Monday morning.

Police are continuing their investigation and expect to conduct full sexual assault forensic interviews with the two brothers later in the week.

Dudash said they believe this is an isolated incident, but they will continue to investigate. He declined to further elaborate on Shatney's criminal history or the sexual assault he was convicted of in 2010.

Shatney's record on the NH sex offender registry includes a sex assault conviction on March 12, 2010. Prior to that, Shatney's record includes convictions of attempted burglary on Oct. 14, 1983; issuing bad checks on Oct. 28, 1985; bail jumping on June 30, 1992; simple assault – two on Sept. 30, 1993, and one on April 21, 1998; obstructing the report of a crime or injury on April 21, 1998; and criminal threatening on July 14, 2008.

Shatney is the second convicted sex offender to be arrested in Merrimack on sex offense charges since March.

Keith Burns, 40, of 11 Camp Sargent Road, was indicted in June on four counts of possession of child sexual abuse photos and one count of certain use of computer services prohibited.

According to court documents, Burns had in his possession of four sexually explicit photos of a naked 12 or 13 year old girl. He also allegedly spoke online with the young girl via Facebook in a sexually explicit manner.

The possession charges are each considered class A felonies and carry a sentence of 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison and up to $4,000 in fines. The fifth charge is considered a class B felony and carries a sentence of up to 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison and up to $4,000 in fines.