Groton Man, 72, and New London Man, 26, Charged In Sexual Assault

Two men - one of them in his 70s - were charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor today.

Details of the case were not immediately released.

George O. Hammel,  72, of 20 Birch St. Groton, was arrested at 11:40 a.m and is being held in the Groton Town Police Department Headquarters on a 200,000 bond.

Gustavo Pereira, 26, of 43 West St., Apt. J, in New London was arrested at 1:10 p.m. and is also being held at the station on a $100,000 bond.

To be charged with risk of injury to a minor, the victim has to be under age 16. Second-degree sexual assault is defined as an assault in which the victim is between the ages of 13 and 16 and the perpetrator is at least three years older.

The two arrests are the result of an incident that occurred in Groton in March, Lt. John Varone said.

"The two suspects are known to each other and the victim is known to the suspects," he said.