Andrew James Laplante, 31, Greenfield
HANCOCK COUNTY — A Greenfield man is facing child pornography charges after officials say they found the material on his phone after he connected with a county child.
Andrew James Laplante, 31, 2300 block of Layton Lane, has been charged with a Level 6 felony count of possession of child pornography and a Level 6 felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors.
Laplante’s case was opened in Hancock County Superior Court 2 in mid-September. Laplante made his initial appearance Oct. 11 after being arrested. A $4,000 cash bond was set by Judge Dan Marshall who also put a “no contact” order in place. Court records show a pretrial conference is set for early December.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on June 30, officials with the Greenfield Police Department visited a Greenfield home for a complaint on a 31-year-old male messaging a 16-year-old child. The family told officials they found a cell phone in their daughter’s room — one they had not bought for their daughter. The girl told the family that a 31-year-old man had bought her the phone and that she had sent him inappropriate photos, and he had sent her inappropriate photos.
According to the report, the child told officials she didn’t know the man’s last name but that she met him at the Hancock County Public Library, and that he had given her the phone and they had been texting since. The girl told officials the man knew she was only 16 years old and that they had communicated through the app Discord.
The report noted that officials were able to do a download search of the phone and go through the app and found the phone was connected to Laplante. Officials said they found messages and nude photos of the girl as well as photos of Laplante.
When Laplante was questioned by officials, he told them another child, who is identified as 14, introduced him to the girl at the public library and that the other child, who was 14, was the one using the app Discord to connect with the girl. However, officials noted in their report, the pornographic pictures of Laplante were identified by officials in the exchanges with the 16-year-old girl.
The report noted that after some time being interviewed, Laplante admitted to purchasing the phone for the girl and that he was the one who exchanged photos with the teenager, the report stated.
