GREENFIELD — A few months after being sentenced up to 20 years in state prison for multiple counts of child sexual abuse, a Greenfield man is prepared to plead guilty before a federal judge on the same charges.
On Friday in Springfield’s U.S. District Court, Derek Lecompte, 26, agreed to enter a guilty plea on three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 30.
According to a Department of Justice statement, “Lecompte admitted that he befriended a 10-year-old boy, took sexually explicit pictures of him, and posted the pictures on the internet.”
The statement notes that the charges also call for “five years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000. If the Court accepts the plea agreement, Lecompte will be sentenced to 15 years in prison, and 10 years of supervised release. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
Last month in December, Lecompte was charged in Franklin Superior Court with aggravated rape and abuse of a child, posing a child in the nude, unnatural acts with a child, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, and resisting arrest in connection with incidents that took place in 2013 and 2014.
In that case, Judge John Agostini accepted Lecompte’s guilty plea, sentencing him to 15 to 20 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of probation. Probation terms include staying away from children, registering as a sex offender, and wearing a Global Position System device.
As of press time, it wasn’t clear if Lecompte will serve the federal sentence and state prison time at the same time. Calls to the U.S. District Attorney’s Boston office for clarification weren’t returned before the end of the day.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Greenfield Police Chief Robert H. Haigh Jr., the statement relates, noting the case is “brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
You can reach Andy Castillo at acastillo@recorder.com