A Fairfield man who is a lifetime registrant on the Maine Sex Offender Registry from convictions in 1987 has been sentenced to serve four months in jail for sexual assault crimes against a 10-year-old boy.

Joseph Handley, 66, of Old Center Road, pleaded guilty last week to three counts of unlawful sexual touching in Norridgewock between Sept. 1, 2010, and June 1, 2011, according to court documents.

Handley turned himself over to authorities at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison on Friday to begin serving his sentence.

Handley’s lawyer, Paul Sumberg of Skowhegan, said Handley will serve 120 days in jail on the first count against him. He was given suspended 364 day sentences on a second and third count and was ordered to serve two consecutive years of probation once he is released, Sumberg said Monday.

The sexual assault was reported to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department in December and a formal complaint was brought against Handley in February when he was arrested.

He has been ordered to have no contact with the victim or any other children under the age of 13 once he is released, according to court documents. Handley also must agree to undergo sex offender treatment and counseling.

“He got counseling after the first time in 1987 and it actually helped him,” Sumberg said. “He was eager to get counseling again.”

Handley was sentenced in Somerset County Superior Court in March 1987 to four years in prison, with all but 190 days suspended and three years of probation, on a charge of gross sexual misconduct, according to the Maine Sex Offender Registry. He also received a four-year suspended sentence and probation on a second count of gross sexual misconduct. His probation ended in 1989.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367dharlow@centralmaine.comTwitter: @Doug_Harlow

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