GREENFIELD — A Charlemont man found guilty last week of four child sexual abuse charges has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Richard Tinkham, 59, was convicted by a Franklin County Superior Court jury of one count of aggravated rape and abuse of a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He will serve about eight years at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center due to earning 685 days of credit after not being able to post bail following his arrest in late July 2021. The jury concluded prosecutors met their burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Tinkham inappropriately touched a girl known to him repeatedly between May 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2020.

Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Jimenez, who prosecuted the case alongside colleague Jillian Handy, asked Judge David Hodge for a sentence of 18 to 20 years. She mentioned the mandatory minimum is 10 years, and argued that additional prison time was warranted because the girl was particularly vulnerable and Tinkham was trusted by the family.

“In this case, the punishment should be severe,” Jimenez said.

Tinkham’s 10-year sentence will be served concurrently, with two sentences of five to seven years stemming from the indecent assault and battery convictions. Once he is released from prison, Tinkham will be on probation for three years, must enter the sex offender registry and must stay 100 yards away from the victim and her family.

Jimenez recalled how the girl broke down on the witness stand during the trial and needed to be consoled by family members. Jimenez also mentioned survivors of these types of crimes often struggle for years after the incident. Jimenez said the girl declined to provide a victim-impact statement and requested her mother do the same.

“She does not want [Tinkham] to know how this has affected her,” Jimenez said, elaborating that this might give Tinkham satisfaction.

Attorney Sarah Hamilton, who defended Tinkham alongside attorney Kala Chapalonis, said the prosecution wanted Tinkham’s sentence to serve as a general deterrence for other child abusers, but a legal precedent set in 1997 determined that would constitute punishing someone for another person’s crimes. Hamilton also said prosecutors mentioned the toll taken on the victim as the case made its way through the legal system, but she stressed that it is improper to punish her client for exercising his constitutional right to a trial.

“A sentence of 10 years is more than appropriate in this case,” Hamilton said.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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