Vermont man allegedly assaults teen he met in video game chat forum
A 29-year-old Vermont man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at the Norwich Golf Course in September met her on the public chat forum of the online video game Castle Clash, according to a police report.
Samuel L. Indenbaum of Athens, Vt., made his first appearance Monday in the New London court where major crimes are tried. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and enticing a minor. He is free on a $200,000 bond and is represented by attorney Bryan P. Fiengo from the Suisman Shapiro Law Firm. His next court date is Nov. 20. Indenbaum is employed in "tech support" at a community college, according to his court file.
According to the police report, Indenbaum, using the screen name "Sindenba," responded to a quote the alleged victim posted on the Castle Clash chat forum over the summer. Indenbaum sent the girl a message, they conversed, and after a few weeks he began to flirt with her. The girl told police she flirted back and told him she was 15. She said she asked his age and he said he was older, and in college. She said she thought that meant he was about 18 years old.
The girl said Indenbaum told her he loved her and said to let him know if she ever wanted to meet him and he would drive from Vermont and kiss her, according to the report. She told him probably not, because an adult in her life would get mad. She said they began video chatting on an application called OOVOO and he said he would kiss her if she wanted to meet. She said she jokingly told him, "How about tomorrow night?" and he said he would meet her at the Friends Animal Hospital on New London Turnpike at 1 a.m.
A police officer was conducting a property check at the Norwich Golf Course at 3:11 a.m. and observed the girl in Indenbaum's 2008 Honda Civic, according to the report. The girl seemed scared and nervous and agreed to speak to the police away from Indenbaum. She told a female officer that, after they began kissing, Indenbaum was touching her sexually when police arrived.
Police seized Indenbaum's car, cellphone and the alleged victim's laptop and tablet as evidence.
