Cohasset School Committee Chairman Resigns After Allegedly Soliciting Sex
COHASSET (CBS) -- The chairman of the Cohasset School Committee has resigned after being charged with soliciting sex from an undercover police officer at a mall food court in Cambridge on Tuesday night.
Paul Ognibene, 44, was arrested shortly after 7 p.m. by Cambridge police's Special Investigations Unit after he allegedly offered to pay the officer for sex while at Cambridgeside Galleria.
On June 30, the investigative unit received information about a Craigslist ad for an office assistant posting but described the posting as a "false job which is actually soliciting girls for sex," according to the police report. That sparked the investigation.
In July, detectives found a Craigslist posting that read "Compensation: depends on experience (Looking for an outgoing, fun, energetic, cute office assistant. Ideal candidate would have some college training or a college degree and be between 22 and 32 years old. Dress code is casual, but short skirts are always preferred because it's mostly guys," according to the report.
The officer was able to arrange a meetup with Ognibene at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Cambridge, police say. He allegedly tried to meet with her at a hotel in Boston.
About a half hour before the meet, police began conducting surveillance in the area. Ognibene and the officer ended up meeting at another location than the prearranged place.
The officer gave Ognibene her resume, which he looked over and told her that the duties would include filing, computer work, and driving him around, according to the report. He then told her that she would be his personal assistant and that would involve lunch dates, hanging out in a hot tub at a hotel, massages and fantasy phone sex, the report adds.
Ognibene told the officer that she would be paid $50 per hour, according to the report. He asked her if she would be interested in phone and virtual sex, and she told him that they would need to be done after hours and be discrete, the report adds.
He allegedly asked the officer if she wanted to do a "trial run" after his dinner plans later that night and she agreed. Moments later, the officer gave the investigative unit the signal and they moved in and arrested Ognibene, according to the report.
Police say the cell phone number Ognibene gave them is the same number the officer was communicating with him during the investigation.
It's unclear when he will appear in court.
Ognibene is a small business owner and entrepreneur, according to his campaign website. He runs Cambridge-based Urban Spaces, a real estate firm which acquires, develops, and manages properties in close proximity to urban transportation centers, the site adds.
He is married with two children, according to the website.
The school committee meeting scheduled for Friday has been canceled, according to the Town of Cohasset website.