Convicted sex offender Corey Deen Saunders pleaded guilty Monday to raping a 6-year-old boy in the second-floor magazine room of the New Bedford Public Library a year ago.
Mr. Saunders, 27, entered a guilty plea to multiple charges including rape of a child, indecent assault and battery and enticing a child, according to a press release from Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter's office.
During Monday's plea hearing, Mr. Sutter asked that Mr. Saunders be sentenced to life in prison, citing the victim's age and the fact that Mr. Saunders had pleaded guilty in an earlier case to the attempted rape of a 7-year-old boy.
Alan Zwirblis, Mr. Saunders' attorney, countered with an argument for a shorter sentence that would include probation, according to the release.
Superior Court Judge Robert T. Kane requested both sides submit motions supporting their respective sentencing recommendations by Feb. 17, but the judge has not yet set a sentencing date.
"Other than being able to turn back the hands of time, it's probably the best case scenario that we could have hoped for at this juncture," said Lt. Jeffrey P. Silva, New Bedford Police Department spokesman. "We're anxiously anticipating the sentencing."
Mr. Saunders was arrested on Jan. 30, 2008, after he lured the boy to a secluded corner of the magazine room, fondled the boy and performed oral sex on him, police said. The boy's mother was in another section of the library working on a computer, unaware that her son was being attacked.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Saunders was on probation for the 2000 criminal case in which he pleaded guilty to molesting a 7-year-old boy in Attleboro.
He had been released from a Bridgewater treatment facility in December 2006 after Judge Richard T. Moses ruled the commonwealth failed to meet the burden of proof necessary to have Mr. Saunders committed as a sexually dangerous person.
During the sexually dangerous person hearing, three expert psychological witnesses — two who testified for the commonwealth and the third appointed by the court — said Mr. Saunders was sexually dangerous. Two expert witnesses testified for the defense that he was not.
After Mr. Saunders' arrest in January 2008, he was held without bail after being found dangerous by Judge Kane.
District Attorney Sutter then moved for a probation violation hearing, arguing that Mr. Saunders' actions the day of his arrest violated the terms of his probation from the 2000 case.
In April 2008, Judge Kane found Mr. Saunders had violated his probation, which prohibited him from having unsupervised contact with minors, and sentenced him to five years in state prison.
City-wide outrage in the wake of the 2008 incident prompted Mayor Scott Lang and the City Council to adopt a "child safety zone" ordinance, which bans individuals convicted of juvenile sex crimes from being in public places where children are present.
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
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