FARMINGTON — A Chesterville man pleaded guilty Friday in Franklin County Superior Court to sexually abusing a girl under age 10 multiple times between Jan. 1 and Oct. 11, 2023.

Justice Nancy Mills accepted the plea of Norman Pelletier, 76, to a charge of unlawful sexual contact. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

The state dismissed a charge of gross sexual assault, which carries the same penalty.

Mills sentenced Pelletier to 30 years with all but 11 years suspended. Upon release he will be on probation for 15 years and is not to have any contact with the girl, her family and children under age 18.

Mills allowed him to report to the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington on Nov. 8 so he can have tests on his heart at Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, defense attorney Jennifer Cohen said. She said he would like to report Dec. 1 so he can have Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

Assistant District Attorney James Andrews opposed the request, adding that the Maine Department of Corrections would eventually take over his medical care.

Pelletier can only leave his home with a family member, Mills said.

He was arrested by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Nov. 2, 2023, after he was interviewed by Detective David Davol. He said Pelletier told him the girl instigated the sexual contact.

The girl was interviewed Oct. 25, 2023, at a Children’s Advocacy Center and explained what happened, according Andrews, who recited the state’s evidence. She said Pelletier touched her private area under and over her clothes, and sometimes he had his clothes on and sometimes he didn’t.

“You hurt my family, not just my kid,” the girl’s mother told the court. The girl has started counseling, she said.

Mills told Pelletier that if he violates his probation, he could go back to jail for up to 19 years. He must undergo sex offender treatment and comply with the Maine Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, she said.