ROCKLAND – A man from Warren who was arrested for sexual assault in 2018 will not be going to jail if he follows the terms of a deferred disposition agreement during the next two years.

Michael Canfield, 22, pleaded guilty April 12 in Knox County Unified Court before Justice Daniel Billings to unlawful sexual assault. The charge of gross sexual assault was dismissed due to the deferred disposition agreement reached between the state and Canfield’s attorney.

The terms of the agreement stipulate that Canfield must refrain from any new criminal conduct and undergo mental health counseling to include sex offender evaluation and treatment. If he follows the agreement, the unlawful sexual assault charge will be reduced to an unlawful sexual touching charge, a misdemeanor. He will then be sentenced to 364 days in jail, all suspended with one year of probation. If he does not follow the terms of the agreement, he will face opening sentencing for the charges.

Canfield is prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with females under 18 years of age.

He was arrested by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and charged with gross sexual assault July 5. He made his initial court appearance in Knox County Unified Court July 6 and was released on $5,000 cash bail from the Knox County Jail.

According to the affidavit filed in court by police, Deputy Paul Spear responded to a complaint from a pastor of a local church about a sexual assault of a 17-year-old female.

When police interviewed the victim, she told them that she met Canfield on Facebook and began communicating with him on Facebook Messenger.

She said that they eventually met at his residence in Warren where he assaulted her.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com