Man charged with seeking girls for sex dungeon

MANCHESTER, Conn. (AP) - The owner of a Connecticut hotel and management agency has been charged with seeking underage girls for "slave training" in his "sex dungeon."

State police say 46-year-old Simon Hessler was held on $1 million bail on 14 charges including attempt to employ a minor in an obscene performance. He's due back in court Dec. 12.

Police say Hessler, owner of the Baymont by Wyndham hotel in Manchester and New England Hospitality Management Inc. in Vernon, communicated online with an undercover detective who pretended to be a person with access to underage girls.

The Ellington man was arrested Wednesday when he allegedly attempted to pay for a juvenile.  The "dungeon" was found at the Vernon business.

Hessler did not respond to an email or phone call. No attorney was listed in judicial records.