A Franklin man convicted more than a decade ago of severely sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl has asked a judge to reconsider his sentence, newly filed court records show.

Randy Duquette, 43, said a doctor has discovered at least eight mental maladies that were not taken into account by a judge during his original sentencing in 1997.

Duquette, a state prison inmate, is currently two years into his second 10-year sentence. His earliest possible parole date is June 2027.

In paperwork filed at Merrimack County Superior Court, Duquette's attorney, Michael Sheehan, said his client has "fundamentally and radically changed" after seeking treatment in prison.

According to Sheehan, Duquette was suffering from bipolar disorder, Tourette's disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and social phobia at the time of the assaults.

"Duquette was a troubled, scared and confused man," Sheehan wrote. "(Duquette was) suffering with a force that had no name, that received no treatment, and with which he grappled for most of his life before finally succumbing to its will."

In court filings, Sheehan said his client suffered a traumatic childhood and was the victim of sexual abuse himself. He pointed to an incident when Duquette's mother held a .22 caliber rifle against her body and pleaded to have the young Duquette pull the trigger because she couldn't reach it.

"Duquette could not do it, so his mother managed to pull the trigger and shoot herself directly in front of (him)," wrote Sheehan. "She survived, but the event forever scarred Duquette."

In prison, Duquette hired Dr. Eric Mart to conduct interviews and complete a diagnosis of his mental conditions.

Mart found Duquette likely suffered from a number of personality disorders both at the time of his crimes and during his original sentencing.

Sheehan said he will be asking for a more lenient sentence with a stronger focus on treatment for those mental illnesses.

"Duquette emphasizes at this juncture that he now accepts the guilty verdict," Sheehan wrote. "He admits that he committed the crime charged, he accepts responsibility for his criminal behaviors and he in no way intends this motion to distance himself from that responsibility."

A judge will take up the issue at a hearing in Janurary. Duquette is expected to personally address the court, Sheehan said.

"At a new sentencing hearing, Mr. Duquette will ask this court to consider the culmination of factors that resulted in the perfect storm that lay beneath his criminal behaviors," Sheehan wrote. "(They) dissolved the barriers that otherwise would have prevented Mr. Duquette from committing the crimes of this case."

Prosecutors will have a chance to object.

Single page