A former Concord Boys & Girls Club employee was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in state prison Monday for repeated sexual abuse of a teenage girl entrusted in his care.
Joshua Adams, 29, of New Hampton pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, charging him with a pattern of abuse between January 2017 and August 2017 in Concord, according to court documents. Adams is required to register as a sex offender and complete the sex offender treatment program at the state prison.
The case against Adams was scheduled for a routine hearing Monday in Merrimack County Superior Court. However, a plea and sentencing occurred in its place after Adams reached a fully-negotiated plea agreement with county prosecutors to resolve the case. Adams, who had been out of jail on $500 bail, began serving his sentence Monday.
As part of the agreement, Deputy County Attorney George Waldron dismissed more than a dozen other charges pending against Adams. A grand jury indicted Adams in November on 13 counts of felonious sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor. The aggravated felonious sexual charge to which Adams pleaded guilty was filed Monday as part of the agreement and incorporates several incidents of abuse against the girl during the eight-month period in 2017.
Adams will spend the next eight to 16 years in prison. Under state law, the crime of aggravated felonious sexual assault is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison.
Concord police arrested Adams in early September after the victim came forward and filed a report. The teenager said she met Adams at the Boys & Girls Club while attending programs there, beginning in September 2016.
Indictments alleged that Adams began sexually assaulting the girl at age 14, including in the club stairway, bathroom and behind a “half-wall,” according to court documents. Away from the club, Adams stood accused of having sex with the girl on the organization’s bus, and in the parking lots of Walmart and McDonald’s in Concord.
His employment with the club ended in August 2017. He had worked for the organization in Concord and Franklin.
Defense attorney Jim Rosenberg said in a statement to the Monitor that Adams has taken responsibility for his actions.
“From the onset of this case, Josh was as cooperative as he could possibly be by speaking with police, working with prosecutors and, ultimately, pleading guilty to a single charge,” Rosenberg said. “He apologized today in court, explaining that he wished to bring as much closure to the victim and her family as possible with his plea of guilty.”
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)