Following a complaint by the general manager of the hotel, Bidhannagar Police arrested 51-year-old Leslie A Powell yesterday.
The complaint was based on the statement of the victim, who had befriended the accused through Facebook.
"The accused is a tourist but how he became a friend with the boy through Facebook is still unclear. We are looking into the details," a senior officer of Bidhannagar Police said.
Powell has gifted the boy a pair of football boots and a sports bag and also promised to give him a bicycle, he said.
Powell was today remanded to jail custody and will be produced before the Barasat Special Court on Monday.