Lenox man sentenced for child sex crime

LENOX, Mass. (NEWS10) -- The U.S. Attorney's Office reported that Martin Connearney, 35, of Lenox, Massachusetts, was sentenced on Thursday to 12 years and seven months in prison in a sex crime case. Connearney pleaded guilty back in January to traveling across state lines with the intent to sexually abuse a child in 2022.

As part of his guilty plea, Connearney admitted to making arrangements to meet a 10-year-old girl with speech and hearing difficulties who he intended to sexually abuse. Unbeknownst to Connearney, the person he facilitated the meeting with was an undercover agent.

Connearney borrowed a car on May 5, 2022, and traveled from Lenox to an agreed-upon location in the Capital Region, where he was taken into custody by law enforcement. Court documents revealed that while planning the meeting, Connearney repeatedly told the undercover agent that the child's sensory difficulties would provide him less of a chance of being caught.

During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Anne Nardacci determined that Connearney's intention to take advantage of a vulnerable victim warranted extended prison time under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. In addition to his sentence, Connearney was ordered to serve a 20-year term of probation and register as a sex offender following his release.