A Franklin man who faces decades in prison for sexual assault failed to convince a judge his convictions should be thrown out due to insufficient evidence.
A judge handed down his decision just weeks before Frederick Bassett, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced on four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, all special felonies. Bassett was found guilty of the charges following a November jury trial in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord.
Bassett was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl between September 2011 and April 2014, beginning when she was 11 years old. The victim was known to Bassett, prosecutors said.
Prior to jury deliberations, the defense filed a motion to dismiss one of the four charges, which alleged a one-time offense as opposed to a pattern of sexual abuse. Bassett’s attorney, Brad Davis, argued that prosecutors failed to prove that the victim was under the age of 16 and over the age of 13 at the time of the crime.
While the girl and her mother provided that information on the witness stand, Davis said their word was not backed up by any hard proof, such as the girl’s birth certificate.
Judge Richard McNamara did not rule on the defense’s motion, and allowed the case to go to the jury, which returned a guilty verdict Nov. 10.
Days later, without a ruling on its initial motion, the defense filed a second motion – this time asking McNamara to toss out the three other sexual assault convictions. Those charges allege a pattern of sexual abuse over several years.
Davis again argued that the state had presented insufficient evidence for the jury to find Bassett guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
McNamara disagreed.
In an order issued last month, he denied both defense motions, and said the evidence presented, including the victim’s testimony, was enough for “a reasonable jury to find guilt.” The girl had testified that Bassett had sexually assaulted her “in many ways and many times,” McNamara wrote.
“It is also true that there was no corroboration of the victim’s testimony, but New Hampshire law specifically provides that the testimony of a victim of a sexual assault need not be corroborated,” McNamara wrote. A victim’s testimony can be supported by another witness account and/or physical evidence.
A grand jury had originally indicted Bassett in February 2016 on nine counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, but prosecutors dropped five of the charges, each alleging one-time sexual acts, a month before the case went to trial.
Bassett’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 9 a.m. in Merrimack County Superior Court.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)