A Brunswick man pleaded guilty in Sagadahoc County Superior Court on Dec. 13 to a charge of gross sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual contact and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Leslie Richard Grant, 46, of 42 Pleasant St., Apt. 5, was arrested in July and charged by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Department with one count of gross sexual assault against a child younger than 14.

Chief Deputy Brett Strout of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Department, who investigated, said Grant was sentenced Dec. 13 to 18 years in prison with all but six years suspended and a total of 14 years probation.

The charges, Strout said, involve a single victim and stem from incidents that occurred in 2000. In July, the sheriff ’s department reported they had received a referral from the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office alleging that Grant had sexually abused children at a Bowdoinham residence during 2000 and that the resulting investigation revealed that Grant “had gained the trust of a family whereupon he was able to have access to their children at the residence.”

Grant, also known as Levi Grant, is a registered sex offender after he was convicted of a similar incident in Lisbon in 2004, according to the sheriff ’s department.

That conviction was for unlawful sexual contact of a female under the age of 18, court documents show. As part of Grant’s plea agreement, Strout said Grant agreed to be a lifetime sex offender registrant. Court documents show an additional four counts of unlawful sexual contact were dismissed as part of that plea agreement.

Strout said Grant was taken to the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

Strout credited Lisbon and Brunswick police departments for helping with the investigation in this case and “I’d especially like to thank the Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine, which helped the victim and helped police in the investigation as well.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com