Oxford Hills
Man pleads to sex crimes
PARIS — A Cornish man convicted of sex crimes in York County earlier this year had additional time added to his sentence after pleading to other charges in the Oxford County Superior Court on Friday.
Jacob E. Fernald, 29, of 2 Main St., pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl. Fernald was indicted in October 2008 on 12 counts of gross sexual assault against one girl and eight counts of unlawful sexual contact against another. He was charged with committing the crimes in Porter between June 2004 and December 2005.
The plea dismissed the remaining unlawful sexual contact charges as well as the gross sexual assault charges.
In September, Fernald pleaded guilty to sex crimes in York County related to the same girl involved in the Oxford County gross sexual assault charges. In that case, Fernald was charged with four counts of gross sexual assault, 21 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Fernald was sentenced in York County to serve seven-and-a-half years of a 15-year prison sentence with four years of probation. On Friday, Justice Donald Marden accepted a plea agreement ordering Fernald to serve an additional 34 months in prison on two of the unlawful sexual contact charges. The agreement also sentenced Fernald to serve five years concurrent to his sentence on the remaining two charges.
Fernald must also register as a lifetime sex offender.
Justice Carl Bradford previously denied a plea agreement that would have allowed Fernald to serve his entire Oxford County sentence concurrently to the York County one. In a letter to the court, the girl's parents argued that sentences given in sexual abuse cases are often too light.
"Crimes against children are devastating, but time and time again the perpetrator is removed from society for only a brief period of time before he is released to prey on his next victim," the parents wrote.
Marden also read through several letters from Fernald's family and friends before agreeing to the plea agreement.
"I am very disappointed in his actions, but I know he realizes what he did is wrong," wrote Fernald's brother, Darryll Fernald. "I know that Jacob is not a predator, just mixed up when it comes to emotional involvement."
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SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK! I
SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK! I am 29 years old, I have a 6 year old little and this is absolutely crazy! I'm sorry but I have never looked at a 13 year old little girl after I was in my older teans and thought about a sexual ideas. I just don't see how there is any reabilitation in these ANIMALS! My heart would be broken if something like this happen to my little girl now or when she's 13. 10 years is not enough, there is no cure even further more I don't have the answer as to what to do with them then if jail isn't the answer. Because after all, i'm not one of them. seems like all we read about is men doing this to little girls. Hate to let my mind wonder on how much this is really happening and the men havn't been caught yet. Hope this man gets dealt with in the Penial system. I'm sure her parents do to
Here we have a 24 year old
Here we have a 24 year old who has had repeated sexual relations with a 13 year old in two counties over two years and they will serve roughly ten years? There is just something wrong with this. I commend Bradford for rejecting the original plea agreement allowing all time to be concurrent but really, the punishment in neither county fits the crimes. This individual will be out before age 39 (with good time?) to prey on other children and the known child and any others will live with this the rest of their lives. What message are we sending to victims and perpetrators?
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