FARMINGTON, Maine — A former Chesterville man will serve 15 years in jail after pleading guilty Wednesday to 10 charges of gross sexual assault against young boys.
“Your honor, I would like to apologize to the victims and their families for anything I’ve done to hurt them,” said Jonathan Clark, now of Lovell. “I’m truly sorry for what happened.”
I'll bet you are, now.
Clark, 29, originally faced 36 charges, including 29 counts of gross sexual assault, four counts of unlawful sexual contact, sexual exploitation of a minor, dissemination of sexually explicit material and sexual abuse of a minor. He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of gross sexual assault and was sentenced by Franklin Superior Court Judge Susan Orman to 15 years on each count, to run concurrently, followed by 30 years of supervised release.
Concurrently - good grief. So if he had only committed one gross sexual assault, he would have gotten the same amount of time in jail. Consequently, the other 28 counts are free.
At the time of his arrest in April, prosecutors said Clark was a family friend of the mother of two of the victims and slept in the same bed as the victims, but moved out when the victims’ mother told him she was buying bunk beds so he wouldn’t have to share a bed.
According to court records, Clark then had boys visit him at his mother’s house, and some of the incidents were videotaped and put online. Clark had either oral or anal sex with one of the victims on an almost weekly basis over a period of two years, according to Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews. All of the incidents took place from 2012 to 2014 in Chesterville, Farmington and Wilton.
During the hearing Wednesday, Clark said he understood the charges against him, his rights in court and the consequences of a felony conviction.
He entered a plea of guilty as Orman read each of the 10 charges against him aloud. The case was not brought to trial in order to spare the victims any emotional trauma, Andrews said. If the case had gone to trial, it would have included testimony from the four boys listed in the court records, all under the age of 14.
After entering the pleas, Clark said he didn’t dispute the evidence against him and stated that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Jonathan Clark is a heartless, backstabbing user who betrayed my trust and the trust of my children,” said the mother of two of the victims listed in the court records during the hearing. She didn’t want to give her name because she did not want the children’s identities revealed. The woman said a third son also was sexually assaulted by Clark, but no charges were brought up in that incident because the boy is even younger than his two brothers, and she didn’t want to cause him more emotional trauma. She said her oldest son won’t speak to her, and the two younger ones are afraid to leave her side.
“They feel like they are no longer safe. He has ruined their chance to rest and sleep, maybe forever. How do I make them rest and feel comfortable?” she asked the court. “I need to know that he is in prison and will never harm them again. He needs to be in prison and locked up forever.”
The woman asked the court for a life sentence for Clark, but Orman said he was given a lesser sentence because he took responsibility when confronted by law enforcement, agreed to spare the victims additional trauma by not going to trial and had no prior criminal record.
During the 30-year supervisory period, Clark is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with juveniles under the age of 16, is not allowed to use the Internet except for work purposes, is subject to periodic judicial review and must go through a sex offender rehabilitation program.
“This is a very serious matter. Damage has been done to some of the most vulnerable people in our community because of this,” Orman said.
After the sentencing, the woman said she was disappointed with the sentence. “All I wanted was justice for what happened. I would have liked to see more for what he’s done. He’s traumatized them.”
“Your honor, I would like to apologize to the victims and their families for anything I’ve done to hurt them,” said Jonathan Clark, now of Lovell. “I’m truly sorry for what happened.”
I'll bet you are, now.
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| Defendant Jonathan Clark, center, pleads guilty Wednesday to gross sexual assault and related charges in Franklin Superior Court in Farmington, Maine |
Concurrently - good grief. So if he had only committed one gross sexual assault, he would have gotten the same amount of time in jail. Consequently, the other 28 counts are free.
At the time of his arrest in April, prosecutors said Clark was a family friend of the mother of two of the victims and slept in the same bed as the victims, but moved out when the victims’ mother told him she was buying bunk beds so he wouldn’t have to share a bed.
According to court records, Clark then had boys visit him at his mother’s house, and some of the incidents were videotaped and put online. Clark had either oral or anal sex with one of the victims on an almost weekly basis over a period of two years, according to Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews. All of the incidents took place from 2012 to 2014 in Chesterville, Farmington and Wilton.
During the hearing Wednesday, Clark said he understood the charges against him, his rights in court and the consequences of a felony conviction.
He entered a plea of guilty as Orman read each of the 10 charges against him aloud. The case was not brought to trial in order to spare the victims any emotional trauma, Andrews said. If the case had gone to trial, it would have included testimony from the four boys listed in the court records, all under the age of 14.
After entering the pleas, Clark said he didn’t dispute the evidence against him and stated that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Jonathan Clark is a heartless, backstabbing user who betrayed my trust and the trust of my children,” said the mother of two of the victims listed in the court records during the hearing. She didn’t want to give her name because she did not want the children’s identities revealed. The woman said a third son also was sexually assaulted by Clark, but no charges were brought up in that incident because the boy is even younger than his two brothers, and she didn’t want to cause him more emotional trauma. She said her oldest son won’t speak to her, and the two younger ones are afraid to leave her side.
“They feel like they are no longer safe. He has ruined their chance to rest and sleep, maybe forever. How do I make them rest and feel comfortable?” she asked the court. “I need to know that he is in prison and will never harm them again. He needs to be in prison and locked up forever.”
The woman asked the court for a life sentence for Clark, but Orman said he was given a lesser sentence because he took responsibility when confronted by law enforcement, agreed to spare the victims additional trauma by not going to trial and had no prior criminal record.
During the 30-year supervisory period, Clark is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with juveniles under the age of 16, is not allowed to use the Internet except for work purposes, is subject to periodic judicial review and must go through a sex offender rehabilitation program.
“This is a very serious matter. Damage has been done to some of the most vulnerable people in our community because of this,” Orman said.
After the sentencing, the woman said she was disappointed with the sentence. “All I wanted was justice for what happened. I would have liked to see more for what he’s done. He’s traumatized them.”
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