Man charged with child rape may take plea deal
Christopher French, the former McCall Middle School employee indicted last year and charged with, among other crimes, child rape, may not see a trial.
Defense attorney Philip A. Tracy Jr., during a hearing Tuesday in which he was expected to argue in favor of a motion to suppress evidence, asked the judge to delay the hearing until the last scheduled pre-trial date later this month because he is currently discussing a possible plea deal with the prosecution.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Chinman told the judge he had no objections to the request.
“The defendant may plead guilty to all charges,” he said. “We’re hopeful that will happen [before the final pre-trial hearing].”
The judge granted the request, meaning that at the final pre-trial hearing, French will either change his “not guilty” plea to “guilty” after working out a deal with the state or, if a deal cannot be reached by that time, continue with the motion to suppress.
“We’re trying to work out some kind of disposition to the case,” Tracy said after the hearing. “But nothing is set in stone. We’re trying to keep all our options open.”
Clerks at the court said details of the motion to suppress filed by Tracy were not being released to the public at this time because of the nature of the case.
French was indicted by a Middlesex Superior Court Grand Jury Oct. 30, 2008, on charges of child rape, child enticement (two counts), posing a child in a state of nudity (four counts), disseminating visual material of a child in a state of nudity (four counts), possession of child pornography (four counts) and dissemination of matter harmful to minors (three counts).
The charges stem from alleged crimes committed against six underage female victims whom the prosecution argues French came into contact with during his tenure as a full-time special education teacher’s aide at the McCall Middle School from 2006 to summer 2008.
French is the son of McCall Middle School Principal Evander French.
In June, a judge denied Tracy’s request to amend the pre-trial conditions placed on his client, by refusing to allow French to remove a GPS tracking unit he was ordered to wear until the trial.
French is currently scheduled to appear at a final pre-trial hearing on Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. at Middlesex Superior Court. If a trial is still deemed necessary, it is scheduled to begin Oct. 19
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