By BETTY ADAMS
Staff Writer Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Kenneth E. Latulippe, 43, of Winthrop was in Kennebec County Superior Court briefly to hear a judge impose a sentence recommended Feb. 27 by the prosecutor and Latulippe's attorney.

Before the full sentence was read, the girl's mother read a victim impact statement for the court.

"I would like the court to know that the only reason why I have agreed to the plea agreement that was offered to Mr. Latulippe is the risk of further emotional trauma it would cause my daughter to have to testify against someone she was supposed to have trusted, someone that should have protected her from the bad in this world," the mother wrote.

Justice Nancy Mills sentenced Latulippe to 15 years in prison, with all but eight years suspended, and 12 years of probation.

Latulippe, who had been Monmouth police chief until 1998, had pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to two counts of gross sexual assault. The offenses occurred in October 2005 and November 2005 and involved a victim who was 8 at the time. The child first told her mother about the abuse this year, the mother indicated.

It is the policy of the Kennebec Journal not to identify victims of sexual crimes.

Latulippe declined to speak in court Monday. His attorney, J. Mitchell Flick, told the judge that Latulippe was remorseful and wanted to minimize further trauma to the victim.

Mills banned Latulippe from contact with the girl, her siblings and her mother as well as from unsupervised contact with children under 18. He was ordered to register as a sex offender and barred from having firearms.

Latulippe told her he understood the conditions of his probation.

Most recently, Latulippe had worked as a reserve police officer in Sabattus and Wiscasset. He had no prior criminal record.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com