FARMINGTON — A Dixfield man pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing a teenage girl last summer.
Cole P. Gordon, 20, entered the plea to unlawful sexual contact at Farmington District Court.
A felony charge of gross sexual assault, which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, was dismissed in the plea agreement.
Gordon was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl multiple times, Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. previously said in August 2021.
Lt. David St. Laurent arrested Gordon who was of Rumford at the time, after conducting an investigation.
“The multiple incidents reportedly occurred at a camp in Carthage,” Nichols wrote in an email last year. He said the assaults started in mid-July.
According to Nichols, Gordon and the girl know each other but are not related.
Gordon entered into a supervised delayed two-year sentencing agreement Thursday, according to court documents. One of the conditions of the agreement is no contact with the victim or any female children, directly or indirectly, under age 16.
He also must comply with all conditions in the agreement. Among those conditions are to undergo mental health evaluation, sex offender evaluation and counseling for both, as indicated by evaluators. Proof of evaluation must be submitted to the District Attorney’s Office by June 1. Proof of counseling must be provided to the office every three months.
If Gordon successfully completes the tasks outlined in the agreement, he will be able to withdraw his plea to the felony charge and plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of the same. The sentence would be a fully suspended 364 days. He will also be required to serve one year on probation and undergo counseling to the satisfaction of a probation officer, if not already completed, according to a court document. He also must comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
If he does not successfully complete the agreement, it would be an open plea to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
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