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Berkshires resident James LaFrance, age 65, of Dalton, pleaded guilty on Monday, July 12, to four counts of sexual exploitation of children, said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Nathaniel R. Mendell.
LaFrance admitted that on two separate occasions in 2018 and 2019, he encouraged a 16-year-old girl from Massachusetts, whom he had befriended on the internet, to engage in sexually explicit conduct during video chat sessions.
LaFrance recorded the girl’s actions on his computer and provided specific directions as to what she was to do on camera, the complaint added.
LaFrance engaged in virtually identical behavior toward a 16-year-old girl from Pennsylvania on two occasions in July 2019, the complaint said.
The charges of sexual exploitation of children each provide for a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and forfeiture.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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