BANGOR, Maine — A Glenburn man was sentenced Thursday at the Penobscot Judicial Center to 20 years in prison in connection with the sexual abuse of two boys under the age of 12.
Kenneth W. Terrill Jr., 50, was indicted in February 2014 on two counts of gross sexual assault.
He pleaded guilty last year to one count and the other was dismissed in a plea agreement with the Penobscot County district attorney’s office. There was no agreement on sentencing.
By pleading guilty, Terrill admitted that he sexually assaulted a relative he was baby-sitting when the boy was 10 and 11 in 2012 and 2013. Terrill was arrested in January 2014 and has been held at the Penobscot County Jail since his arrest.
Terrill apologized Thursday for “breaking their trust.” He said that he agreed to plead guilty so the boys would not have to testify at a trial.
“I know what I did was wrong and pray for forgiveness,” Terrill said. “I pray for forgiveness. I hope they will be able to forgive me.”
The boy’s mother told the judge that her son had withdrawn from most extracurricular activities at school and his grades had suffered because of the abuse. She said that both victims are in counseling.
In sentencing Terrill, Superior Court Justice William Anderson said that he considered the defendant’s sexual assault on a 7-year-old boy an aggravating factor even though Terrill was not convicted of that crime. The judge also said that the mitigating factors including Terrill’s lack of a criminal history and the aggravating factors balanced each other out.
In addition to prison time, Anderson sentenced Terrill to 20 years of supervised release.
Maine law calls for judges to set a base sentence of 20 years in sex assault cases where the victim is under the age of 12. None of that time may be suspended. Defendants may be sentenced to supervised release, which includes strict conditions, for life after serving their sentences.
Alice Clifford, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, recommended Terrill serve 25 to 27 years and be on supervised release for life. Defense attorney Martha Harris of Bangor urged Anderson to impose a nine-year sentence and some term of supervised release that was less than life.