West Hartford Man Charged With Attempting to Pay for Sex Acts with Minor – We-Ha

Two men, including a 50-year-old West Hartford resident, were charged Thursday in Hartford in connection with an undercover sting operation.

By Ronni Newton

A West Hartford man and a New Britain man were both arrested in Hartford on Thursday and charged in connection with an attempted exchange of money for sex acts with a minor.

Hartford police announced that Jeffrey Cunningham, 50, of South Quaker Lane in West Hartford and Christopher Cheong, 30, of Daily Avenue in New Britain were charged after they drove to an unknown location in Hartford as part of an operation conducted by the Hartford Police Department’s Special Investigations Division in conjunction with the FBI Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Task Force.

Both Cunningham and Cheong are charged with criminal attempt to commit illegal sexual contact with a minor under the age of 16, criminal attempt to commit second-degree sexual assault, and criminal attempt to commit commercial sexual abuse of a minor. All charges are felonies, and both suspects were taken into custody and initially held on $500,000 bail.

Cunningham remains in custody on a court-set bond of $300,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9, according to online court records. Records indicate Cheong was released after posting $200,000 bail and is also scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9.

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