ROCKLAND, Maine — A judge sentenced a 38-year-old Thomaston man to serve 17 years in prison for sexually assaulting a young child over many years and producing child pornography with another victim.
James Prescott was sentenced Wednesday in Knox County Superior Court to 25 years in prison with all but 17 years suspended. Justice Daniel Billings also placed Prescott on probation for 12 years upon his release.
The victim’s father asked the judge for the maximum sentence saying that Prescott had stolen his boy’s childhood. The maximum sentence for gross sexual assault is 30 years.
Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody recommended that Prescott serve 20 years in prison, citing a series of aggravating factors in the case. The defendant took advantage of the boy, who was about 8 years old when the assaults began, by at first watching cartoons with him, the prosecutor said.
The acts were graphic and there were no boundaries to what Prescott would do, Baroody told the judge.
The separate victim in the child pornography case was not cooperative, but police were able to seize computers in which Prescott produced sexual images of that child.
Defense attorney Aaron Fethke asked the judge to suspend all but seven to 10 years of the prison sentence. He said the case was unusual in that Prescott went to police to confess before the victims reported any crimes.
“This level of cooperation is rarely seen,” Fethke said.
Prescott was arrested for the sexual assaults in November after he stopped into the Damariscotta Police Department and confessed to the crimes and then the Knox County Sheriff’s Office took over the case and interviewed the victim of the original sexual assault case. Prescott has been held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail since his arrest.
Fethke said the judicial system should encourage rehabilitation for someone like Prescott who came forward.
Baroody pointed out, however, that Prescott went to police only after he received a telephone call from the victim’s father who told him he found out what Prescott had done.
Prescott apologized during the hearing before Billings sentenced him.
To reach a sexual assault advocate, call the Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Line at 800-871-7741, TTY 888-458-5599. This free and confidential 24-hour service is accessible from anywhere in Maine. Calls are automatically routed to the closest sexual violence service provider.