SKOWHEGAN — A Starks man who pleaded guilty to several sexual assault crimes against a minor was sentenced Tuesday to serve 30 years behind bars.

Keith Merchant, 44, appeared in the Skowhegan District Courthouse where District Court Judge Andrew Benson handed down a prison sentence that totals 30 years to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Keith Merchant Courtesy photo

Merchant pleaded guilty earlier this month to two Class A counts of gross sexual assault, two Class B counts of unlawful sexual contact, two Class C counts of sexual abuse of a minor, one count of Class D unlawful sexual contact and one Class E count of violation of condition release. A Somerset County grand jury indicted Merchant in December 2023, according to court records.

Benson sentenced Merchant to 20 years in prison on the first gross sexual assault count, and 10 years in prison on the second gross sexual assault count to be served consecutively. Prison time for the other six counts is to be served concurrently with the sentence for the first count.

The prison sentence is to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, with conditions that Merchant have no contact with the victim or anyone younger than 18 and that he complete counseling, among others.

The victim in all of the charges was an extended family member of Merchant. Court records show the victim was 12, 13 and 14 years old at the time of Merchant’s offenses, which occurred over a range of dates from October 2021 to July 2023, all in Starks.

“The victim in this case is never going to be the same,” said Benson, the judge. “(The) family has been destroyed.”

Detective Jeremy Leal of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, who arrested Merchant in August 2023, testified as a witness at the sentencing hearing that Merchant groomed the victim over several years. The case stood out, in part, because of the repeated offenses over multiple years, Leal said on the witness stand.

Timothy Snyder, first assistant district attorney for Somerset County, asked Benson to impose a sentence of 40 years in prison due to the “overall heinous nature” of the crimes and the impact on the victim and the victim’s family.

Jennifer Cohen, Merchant’s attorney, argued for a lesser sentence of 15 years in prison, with all but 10 suspended, and probation. Merchant has taken responsibility and expressed remorse and regret for his actions, and his crimes did not involve violence or physical force, Cohen said.

Cohen also referenced Merchant’s history of substance use disorder, experience as the victim of childhood sexual abuse, and two traumatic brain injuries as factors for the court to consider, which were documented in a doctor’s evaluation.

Benson, in explaining the sentence he was imposing, acknowledged some of the mitigating factors that Cohen presented, such as his addiction to methamphetamine, but said the key aggravating factor of victim impact outweighed those.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard impact statements from the victim, as well as two family members.

“You tore me down in so many ways, but I am getting better and becoming myself again,” the victim wrote in a statement, which was read aloud by a victim witness advocate in the district attorney’s office. “I was better off without you in my life, and I will always be. I used to look up to you because I thought you were so cool, but now I realize all you were, and ever will be, is a pathetic loser. And I hope you rot in prison like you deserve.”

Merchant, wearing blue Somerset County Jail clothing, addressed the court briefly before he was sentenced, apologizing and saying that he wished he never started taking drugs.