Press Releases
05/03/2024
Judge Sentences Massachusetts Man Convicted of Sexual Assault and Risk of Injury to a Minor Charges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Litchfield, CT) - Litchfield Judicial District State’s Attorney David R. Shannon today announced that the Honorable Walter A. Menjivar on May 2, 2024 sentenced Joshua J. Frenette, age 41, of Granville, Massachusetts, to 25 years in prison, execution suspended after 15 years served, followed by 25 years of probation. Frenette also was ordered to register with the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry, and to obey three standing criminal protective orders.
Frenette was convicted of two counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-70(a)(2), Attempt to Commit Sexual Assault in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-49) and § 53a-70(a)(2), and three counts of Risk of Injury to a Minor, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21(a)(2) after a four-day trial in January.
According to evidence presented at trial, Frenette sexually assaulted a female victim for a period of about six years, between 2011 and 2017, while the victim was between the ages of 7 and 13. The assaults occurred at various locations in West Hartland, Winsted and Bridgeport. There was also testimony presented at trial that showed years of physical and emotional abuse the victim and her two siblings were subjected to by the defendant.
The case was investigated by the Connecticut State Police, Western District Major Crime Squad, and was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Karen Roberg, with assistance from Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Alessandra Santacroce, Paralegal Specialist Melissa Brewer, and Inspector Forrest J. Beaulieu.
State’s Attorney Shannon would like to thank the Connecticut State Police, Western District Major Crime Squad, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Division of Scientific Services, for their extensive work and dedication in this investigation.